Safe and Sound
by Bluestarshine
Summary: In a world where the skies fall, everything else crumbles, and faith is shattered, everything is uncertain; safety and life being the most uncertain of all. Pain and death are almost certain. Hal and Maggie are partners, they need each other more than they realize. They must overcome pain, death and haunting darkness to protect those that they love, each other, and the Second Mass.
1. Love will set you free

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"I can hear you, you know." Maggie says, to Hal, as she hears his feet crunching on the leaves and twigs on the ground.

"Ah, yeah yeah." Hal smirks; he walks around to Maggie who he finds is sitting on a fallen tree log.

"You scrape your heels when you walk." she tells him. Hal smirks.

"My mum said the same thing." He answers.

Maggie smiles, "She was right."

"I doubt she was giving me pointers on how to survive the alien invasion." Hal says, with a smile.

Maggie begins, with a smile, "Maybe not but as your partner I'm asking you to-"

"Pick up my feet." Hal says, finishing her sentence; as he speaks he takes a seat down next to her on the log.

"At least when we're on patrol." Maggie adds.

"Yes ma'am." Hal smiles.

"How'd you know I was here anyway?" Maggie asks, turning to look at Hal as she speaks.

Hal hesitates before he replies, "Because you weren't in your tent, and this is where you've been coming almost every morning."

"What? You spying on me or something?" Maggie asks, with a small smile.

"Not exactly spying, just-" Hal begins.

"Spying." she cuts Hal off.

He grins, as he says, "No, I'm keeping an eye on my partner."

"Mmm. Whatever you say Hal Mason, whatever you say." Maggie smiles, she looks away from Hal.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks, after a moment of silence.

Maggie hesitates; she lets out a small sigh and speaks, "Hiding."

"From what? Me? Well, you've picked a great spot. Out here, in the open." Hal smiles, he looks to Maggie who is smiling, but it's small and it's not real.

Hal knows her real smile.

"What? Come on, you can tell me. We're partners." he tells her.

"I'm getting a clear head, before my night shift. Avoiding it, I guess…" she says, pushing back a strand of her hair.

"Why?" Hal asks, tilting his head to the side slightly.

Maggie looks up at Hal who she finds is watching her intently.

"I don't like the dark, all that much." she admits, looking back down to her hands.

"Because of Pope and his crew?" Hal asks.

She's never told him any of the stories but he's heard them around camp. He hopes that these stories are more fiction than fact but Maggie never talks about them and he never asks. Until now, and he can see from her stiffened posture and her eyes that don't lift from the ground that he's made a mistake bringing it up.

"I'm sorry-" he begins, softly.

"Don't be." she says, giving Hal a reassuring smile.

Hal will never know how she can do that, how she can completely change her emotions in a second. He won't know because she won't let him in. She's not that kind of person. They both know that.

"You're safe now Maggie." he says, wanting to give her some kind of reassurance or support.

She shakes her head slowly, a smile on her face. "No, I'm not. None of us are."

"You're right. We're not completely safe, but I'll do my best to keep you safe." he says, still watching her.

"So, you're a lacrosse boy, huh?" Maggie asks, quickly changing the conversation. "That's the one with the sticks, right?" she asks, with a small smile on her features.

"Right," Hal replies, smiling back.

"I was never the 'sporty' type at school," she admits.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed," Hal answers, his smile widens.

Maggie looks at Hal as she says, "Things would be different if none of this happened. If we were at high school together, you wouldn't have noticed me."

"What?" Hal frowns at this.

"You're the lacrosse playing popular guy with the cheerleader girlfriend, and I'm that 'weird' girl that no one notices, smoking pot under the bleachers." Maggie says, still with a smile on her face.

"I would have noticed you." Hal tells her.

Maggie doesn't hesitate to reply, "No you wouldn't have, Hal. No one did. No one at school, or at home, anywhere – I was a lost cause. Nobody cared."

"What, uh what's up?" she asks Hal, pushing back her hair behind her ear again.

"Weaver wants us to scout pharmacies and hospitals. Dr Glass is low on supplies." Hal answers.

"Good. Been in Richmond for a week, going stir crazy, could us a-" Maggie says, as she stands, but before she can finish her sentence an explosion not far in the distance lights up the sky.

* * *

When they return to camp, Tom swaps Dai for Tector and Lee and sends them out with Hal and Maggie on the scout for equipment and medical supplies.

As Hal, and the Berserkers, join Maggie outside of the front of the hospital he announces, "That's two hospitals down, one to go. Isn't looking good."

Just as Maggie looks up, towards Hal, a light in the distance shines through the nearby trees and the once silent night is filled with the ringing and skin crawling sound of mechs.

Hal yells out, loudly, "Cover! Get down."

The Berserkers disappear down behind a car, as soon as Hal yells out for them to take cover.

He turns towards Maggie and directs her towards the door of a nearby car.

"Here, go." he says.

Maggie slides into the seat of the old and slightly rusted car first. Hal follows her seconds later and gets in; as he does he closes the door shut and turns towards her but before he can speak she does.

"Get down." she tells him, quickly.

"What?" he asks; as the words pass his lips Maggie shoves his body down onto the floor of the car.

With Hal already lying on the floor of the car, Maggie positions herself so that she is lying next to Hal. She moves so that half of her body is resting on top of him. They wrap their arms around each other as though it is such a natural thing to do in such a situation and wait for the mechs to come.

As the first mechs pass their car, Hal breathes in heavily. He pauses before he says, "Stay calm."

Moments later he repeats, "Stay calm."

Maggie replies, with a soft but slightly unconvincing voice, "I'm calm. You calm?"

"Very calm." Hal answers; as he speaks he casts a look down on to Maggie. He watches her for a moment before he repeats, "I've never been so calm."

As Hal finally glances away from Maggie she looks up at him. After watching him for a brief second she says, "Yeah, me neither."

When the mechs that had passed them by disappear into the distance and there appears, for the moment, to be no more mechs coming Maggie moves. She half pulls herself off of Hal so that she is not resting on him entirely.

With a smirk on her features she comments, "Ow. So damn bony."

While grinning, Hal replies, "I'll bring you a pillow next time."

Only a few seconds of silence pass before more mechs can be heard moving towards the direction of the car; their light falls down on to the car as it moves towards the car and as the light sets down on to them Hal pulls Maggie into his chest and wraps his arms tightly around her.

Despite that Maggie would never admit to Hal, or anyone, that she wasn't calm in this situation Hal knows her well enough to see that she is slightly on edge. So, to calm her in this situation, Hal speaks so that they may be calm together.

With a lower tone, Hal says, "You know, my first car was a civic. It had 212,000 miles on it. Nobody understood why I wanted it but I'd just started dating this girl – Rita. And there weren't too many places we could go, so that car was-"

"Was like, your bachelor pad." Maggie asks, with a grin appearing on her face.

"You gotta love tinted windows." he states. It gave us our privacy." Hal adds, with a smile now on his face.

"Ri-ta." Maggie says, slowly.

"What's wrong with Ri-ta?" Hal asks; as he speaks he is careful to watch Maggie.

"It's kind of an old lady name." Maggie replies; as she speaks she props her head up and half smiles.

"Okay Margaret." Hal replies, quickly, with a laugh. He continues, still with a grin, "She was no old lady, I'll tell you that. She was a dancer, jazz, she would wear these, like, stretchy jazz pants-"

"A leotard?" Maggie asks, with slightly raised eyebrows.

"No, this wasn't a leotard; this was some special Jazz pant. First time I saw her onstage dance I was in love. Like love at first sight." Hal tells her, still smiling.

Maggie pauses before she says, "Love at first sight, at Jazz pants."

As the words pass her lips she and Hal simultaneously laugh as though it is the funniest thing that they have heard in quite some time.

While still smiling, Hal admits, "I haven't met anybody that talks like you do."

Hal is being completely honest as he tells Maggie he has never met anyone like her and he doubts greatly that he ever will meet someone like her again.

Truth be told, he hasn't met anyone like her and Hal doubts that he ever will meet someone else like her.

"Not even Ri-ta?" she asks.

Hal, while still smiling, replies, "There weren't a lot of words between us."

"Or Karen?" Maggie asks; as she speaks she no longer wears the same smile on her face.

The smile disappears from Hal's features almost instantly causing Maggie to regret speaking of such things.

He pauses before he admits, "I didn't really get a chance to find out."

Maggie sighs, loudly, before she says, "I'm sorry."

Hal replies, very quickly, "No, no. It's okay. It's okay...I, uh - I think that we're okay to move out."

With those words spoken, he pulls away from Maggie and gets out of the car first, leaving her alone on the floor for a moment. She sighs, loudly, and gets out of the car so that she may follow Hal.

She follows him a few feet away from the car before she states, "My problem is I don't know how to stop myself from going too far."

Hal turns around, slowly, before he replies, "Like I said, it's no big deal."

"It is." Maggie says; as she speaks she shakes her head slightly. "I mean, it has to be...So I'm a jerk for going there and I'm sorry. I should have stuck to trashing Rita."

With a small, unsure, smile on her face Maggie asks, "We good?"

Hal nods, once, and with a small smile returning on his own face he says, "Always."

* * *

As Hal steps out of the front door of the hospital which they had come across on their scout, and hit the jackpot with as they had found such a large supply of medicine in it, he finds Maggie sitting down, by herself, on the front stairs of the hospital.

"We're going to rest for a couple of hours, leave tonight." he announces. "Why don't you come inside?" he asks; as he speaks he takes a step towards Maggie and continues to look down at her.

Maggie, who does not turn around to look at Hal but rather continues on gazing out at what lies before the front of the hospital, replies, "Nah, not in the hospital."

Hal pauses and remains silent for only a moment before he decides upon speaking.

"Because of the cancer?" he asks; he continues to look down at Maggie who he finds hasn't turned around and has not acknowledged that he is standing behind her but rather continues staring down at her hands which are covered with black leather gloves.

When Maggie remains silent, Hal lets out a small sigh before he steps towards her and takes a seat down on the steps beside her. He looks out towards the trees, in the direction that Maggie is looking out at, before he says, "You know, you never did tell me what kind of cancer you had."

Without glancing at Hal, she replies, "Nah I did."

"You said..." Hal begins. He continues with a lower tone, "You had the bad kind, like there's a good kind."

Hal lifts his gaze towards Maggie now as he waits for her answers. He finds that she is, for a moment, still continuing to avoid him but finally she speaks and turns to face him.

As she sets her gaze down upon Hal, she says, "Brain tumours."

Hal asks, "More than one?"

"Yeah..." she admits. "They operated one me three times. I have actual holes in my skull." she tells him.

She pauses, briefly, before she says, "Here."

She takes Hal's hand and places it at the back of her head; as she does this she inches closer towards him and pulls his fingers closer to the soft spot. She rests her hand on-top of his before she says, "You feel that soft spot."

Hal pauses before he answers, "Oh."

Maggie drops her hand from Hal's and lowers it back to her side as she asks, "It doesn't freak you out?"

Hal, however, keeps his hand resting on Maggie's head as he answers, with a smile, "No."

As he slowly removes his hand from her head and places it back to where it had previously rested, Maggie speaks.

"When I went in for the third operation I remember thinking that if I don't come out of this, if I die on the table, I'd be okay with that." she admits; as she speaks she turns away from Hal so as to not meet his gaze directly.

"Wow." Hal mutters, with a much lower tone. "It was that bad?" he asks.

She pauses for quite some time before she speaks, "It's like...You're out, out of life, you're at your last little drop. So, if it just drips away, wasn't much left anyway."

Maggie glances back up to Hal who she finds is still watching her still. She smiles at him and looks, briefly, away again.

"I'm glad you got it back." he tells her; and he is so incredibly glad that she got it back because if she hadn't then she wouldn't be here with him.

Maggie pauses before she admits, with a slightly softer tone, "I didn't get it back, not all of it."

Maggie turns to look at Hal, who is still watching her. He leans in, slowly, their eyes stay connected until his look down to her lips then to her eyes, Maggie does the same thing. Hal leans in closes, and presses his lips against Maggie's, she closes her eyes as he does, and the kiss is everything she thought that it might feel like.

For a second they find comfort in each other but Maggie isn't used to this. She doesn't know how she is supposed to feel. Her stone walls shoot right back up, and she pulls away, resting her head on Hal's, he looks away briefly, like he's hurt, and then back to Maggie. He doesn't move away; he keeps his head rested on hers. Maggie lifts her hand to her lips.

"Maggie.." Hal begins to speak.

"Don't. Just don't say anything," She stands up, with her gun in her hands, and walks down the stairs. "Forget it." She adds, walking towards the back of the hospital, to freedom, to air.

* * *

After a few hours of rest inside the hospital, in which Hal was unable to find sleep at all and so spent his time walking the corridors and hallways, Hal and the Berserkers pack up the medical supplies and carry them outside. As they step outside Maggie, who had spent her time alone with her thoughts, glances up from where she is seated on her motorbike and pauses before she gets off and walks towards Hal. As she reaches Hal she takes a bag from him, without speaking, and turns away.

"Hey, Maggie." Hal calls out, after Maggie; as he speaks he follows her as she steps towards her bike.

She replies, "What?"

Hal begins, "I just-"

"Look..." Maggie begins, cutting off Hal as he speaks.

Hal, who speaks as Maggie does, says, "Just-"

"Look." she repeats.

Hal stops so that he may let Maggie speak but as he waits silently to hear her words he isn't entirely sure that he is going to like what she has to say, at all, and he is almost certain that he is going to disagree with her.

Maggie had left him, alone, outside the front of the hospital because she had wanted distance and so she would still probably want that same distance now but Hal didn't want distance; he didn't want it at all.

"What's important is I know you've got my back. And you know I've got yours. We're partners, right? That's what partners do, we watch out for each other. That's it. There's nothing else here." Maggie tells him; as she speaks she slides onto her bike and continues to hold Hal's unwavering gaze.

Hal pauses before, with a softer tone, he admits, "I want there to be."

"Yeah, well we all want a lot of things, but this – no..." Maggie begins; she stops only so that she may start up her bike. "There can't be, so just stop. Now." she adds; and with those last words spoken she drives off, on her bike, away from Hal and towards the distance to which she seeks.

* * *

Hal, who had caught up with Maggie on his bike and had eventually overtaken her and taken the lead, stops his bike causing the Berserkers and Maggie to stop theirs. They have stopped in a quiet, seemingly empty, part of a burnt down town.

"Almost home people." he calls out, loudly.

Just as the words pass his lips, an explosion not very far behind them lights up the once dark night sky and soon enough they begin to come under heavy fire. Hal and The Berserkers start up their bikes and drive as quickly away as they can so to avoid being in the line of fire.

As Hal pulls his bike to a stop he turns towards Lee and Tector. He calls out, loudly, "Anybody see where they came from?"

"Hell no!" Tector answers.

As Hal glances over Lee and Tector he suddenly becomes aware of Maggie's absence. "Where's Maggie?" he asks; as he speaks he looks back towards the spot where they came under fire.

There, he finds her. Maggie, injured and resting on the ground, taking cover behind an old car.

The humming sound of incoming mechs rings through the air just as their lights shine down against the brick walls; this alerts them all that the mechs are coming and they aren't too far away.

Maggie, who knows that they won't have much time to get out of here before the mechs come, calls out, "Go!"

The mechs aren't far away at all. Maggie doesn't want Hal to risk his life for her when in an attempt to try and save her because it wouldn't turn out well.

"Get the hell outta here!" she yells out.

Hal, ignoring Maggie's wishes for them to leave, yells out to the Berserkers, "Cover me."

Quickly, he turns his bike around and rides off in the direction of Maggie. The thought of leaving her behind had never crossed his mind. He would never and could never leave her behind.

Upon catching sight of Hal, Maggie yells out, angrily, "What are you doing? Get out of here!"

As he pulls his bike to a stop before Maggie he yells back, "I can't! I gotta haul your lazy ass back to camp! Come one!"

As he finishes speaking he extends his hand out to Maggie so that she may hold on to it and he may be able to pull her up onto the bike so that he can get her to safety.

"Idiot!" Maggie yells back; despite that she is clearly angered by his choice to come back at her as it was so risky, Maggie does not hesitate to take Hal's hand.

As she takes his hand he pulls her up on to the back of his bike and once he has made sure that she is securely on the bike he drives back as quickly, but also as carefully, as he can because she needs help as quickly as she can get it.

* * *

Anne, who had spotted Hal entering the camp with an unconscious Maggie in his arms, had instructed him to take her to the med bus. He had carried her limp, lifeless, bloodied body in his arms towards the bus and once inside he had set her down on the bed.

"I got you." he whispers.

And although she cannot hear these words, he says them because he means them.

After setting Maggie's body down Hal turns to Anne, with a deeply panicked expression on his features, and asks, "Is she going to be alright?"

Anne pauses before she answers, honestly, "I don't know yet, Hal."

Weaver, who has just stepped onto the med bus, announces, "We gotta move."

Anne glances up briefly at Weaver before she asks, "Can you find me a driver?"

Weaver looks towards Hal who he sees that despite the wounds on his face, and the blood on his clothes, he appears to be in a well enough state to drive and he only assumes that Hal would want to stay on the bus with Margaret, considering that she is his partner, and so he thinks of a solution for all of them.

"Hal?" Weaver asks, as he glances towards him.

Hal lifts his gaze from Maggie towards Weaver and answers, quickly, "Yeah. I got it."

Before he moves away from Maggie he turns to Anne, and asks, "You got her?"

Anne nods, confidently, and smiles at Hal, "We got her, Hal. Slow and steady."

As Hal moves towards the driver's seat he mutters, "Slow and steady."

After taking a seat he turns back so that he may be able to see Maggie, again. He finds that Anne has lifted her blood stained shirt; her stomach is covered with as much, if not move, blood. Seeing Maggie in such a state pains Hal, greatly, and he has to take in a deep breath of air in an attempt to calm himself before he allows himself to worry so greatly.

Hal continues to watch Maggie as he repeats, "Slow and steady."

* * *

After arriving at the hospital, Anne and Lourdes had insisted on taking Maggie inside to a room, despite Hal's objections - since he would not explain why he thought it would be better if Maggie were to wake on the bus Anne had made the decision that a room would be best.

Hal did not feel that it was his place to share the information that Maggie had chosen to share with him, about her not being able to enter hospitals. He hadn't pushed Anne on the idea about Maggie staying in the bus and so he had decided that he would be there when Maggie woke so as to calm her nerves about being inside the hospital.

As Hal reaches the door to Maggie's room he pauses before he decides upon entering it. He steps through to find Lourdes in the room, with Maggie. Lourdes is already at the door as Hal opens it and so she takes the time to tell him the good news, now.

"It doesn't look like there are any bullet fragments." Lourdes informs him. "It missed her lung...Anne thinks that she will be fine." she adds. She pauses before, with a kind smile on her features, she says, "I'll give you some time."

Once Lourdes has left the room, Hal takes a step towards Maggie who he finds is bandaged up and resting in a bed with a blanket covering half of her body. Her arms lay down by her side and she lies so incredibly still. She reluctantly lifts her gaze to meet Hal's and finds that he is smiling.

Maggie does not smile back, however, as she does not understand why Hal would risk his life to save her.

"Why'd you come back for me?" she asks him.

She speaks as though it is such a simple question and deserves such a simple answer.

Hal frowns, though, at this question as he cannot believe that she would ask such a thing.

"'Why?'" he asks, still frowning deeply. "What kind of question is that?" he asks; as he speaks he walks a little closer towards her bedside.

She pauses before she states, "You could have gotten yourself killed, Hal."

Hal ignores Maggie's words as he cares more about the fact that she could have died out there. She would have died painfully, in fear, and alone and he could not imagine leaving her to such a thing. He could not imagine leaving her at all.

"Yeah...And you, you would have died out there." he answers, quickly.

The smallest beginnings of a frown appear on Maggie's features as she appears to be considering what it is that she will say next. When she finally speaks, her voice is softer, "There are people who need you, Hal. People who depend on you."

"The same with you." Hal replies, with no hesitation whatsoever.

_He_ needs Maggie. _He_ depends on her.

Maggie turns away from Hal so that their eyes are not directly meeting. She pauses before she says, "No."

No. She does not believe that anyone needs her. She does not believe that people depend on her. But Hal; he has his family, who need him and depend on him, and the Second Mass also need him and depend on him to protect and fight for them.

Hal takes a slower step towards Maggie before he says, "I need you, okay?"

His voice cracks as he speaks and as he continues to speak his voice is slightly raw. "I need you." he repeats.

He pauses, briefly, before he continues, "You said it yourself. We've got each-others backs. We're partners. We look out for each other, take care of each other. And if anything ever happened to you, Maggie, I'd-"

Hal stops before he can finish; he struggles to finish. His normally cool composure has disappeared and has been replaced by something that Maggie doesn't quite understand.

"What is this?" she asks.

Hal half smiles as he begins, "It's just..." he pauses, and lowers his gaze so to avoid looking at Maggie, and continues with a lower tone, "That, uh...I know you're gonna say this is stupid and crazy, but when I saw you laying there on the ground-"

Maggie cuts in, over Hal, "Hey."

Hal lifts his head, slightly, now before he asks, "What?"

She pauses before she answers, "Nothing...I just..."

A silence falls between the two of them as Hal stretches out his arms, down, on to Maggie's hospital bed. He leans down so that he is looking directly at her.

"Can you do me a favour?" she asks, with a softer tone.

With no hesitation whatsoever, Hal answers, "Anything."

Anything; it's true. He would do anything for Maggie in a heartbeat.

A small, almost nervous, laugh passes Maggie's lips and Hal can see, clearly, that her eyes are glistening with tears.

She says, so softly, "Sit down."

"Ok." Hal agrees, still watching Maggie as he speaks.

"Can you - Can you just stay here, until I fall asleep?" she asks him.

Hal replies, "I can do that.

As Hal pulls in a chair, towards Maggie's bedside, she breathes in deeply. He rests his hands on the edge of her bed and watches her closely for a moment. For a moment, Maggie is silent and still. For a moment, she remains this way as though she is considering something. Then, she slowly, and almost with caution, lifts her right hand and places it down on to Hal's hand. She continues to stare down at his hand as she does this.

Hal takes Maggie's hand, with both of his hand, and holds it; right now, in this moment, Maggie feels safer than she has felt in years and with Hal here, beside her, she feels as though she may be able to rest.

* * *

The night continues peacefully for some time but peace is not something that the Second Mass has or ever will be accustomed to and it is surely not something that they can ever expect to have for long. Maggie had eventually fallen to sleep, while still holding onto Hal's hands, and she had slept without waking until now.

"Maggie." Hal calls out, loudly. "Maggie, wake up." he says, almost pleading with her.

He's called out to her several times but she hadn't woken or responded until now.

Now, she wakes gasping for air as though she was drowning in a tank of ice cold water that had prevented her from breathing until now. Her right hand wraps tightly around Hal's throat, a defensive mechanism, choking him; she does this because she hadn't known that it was Hal.

"Mag-It's me - It's Hal." he stutters; as he speaks he holds his hands up in the air to show her that he means her no harm and never will.

Maggie recognises Hal by his eyes immediately. These eyes don't haunt her.

She drops her hands from his neck immediately as her eyes dart around the dimly lit room. She pauses before turning back to Hal who she finds is watching her with a deep look of concern on his tired features. She never wanted this; she never wanted his pity or concern.

"Hal, what are you-" she begins but stops. She pauses only briefly so that she may rub her temples, when she speaks again her voice is much lower. "I'm sorry. I just...I don't..." she mutters.

"It's ok. It's ok." Hal replies, reassuringly.

After a moment of silence passes between them, Hal decides to speak.

"You were having a nightmare?" he asks; he holds absolutely no judgement in his eyes or on his features but rather genuine concern.

Maggie lays back so that her head is resting on her pillow again. "No." she answers, simply. She closes her eyes and lets out a small smile before she admits, "A memory."

"About what?" Hal questions.

He waits for an answer that Maggie doesn't have and so she only gives him silence. She opens her eyes after a few minutes to find Hal still continues to watch her.

"What?" she asks him; she speaks as though nothing happened. "Don't be worried, Hal. I'm fine." she insists.

Despite that Hal doesn't believe Maggie as she insists that she is fine he doesn't speak again about it but rather changes the subject completely.

"I...uh...I have something for you." Hal tells her.

Maggie watches him with a silent curiosity and intensity as he reaches into the pocket of his jacket and pulls out a a silver chain. He passes the chain to Maggie as he says, "I picked it up a couple of nights ago."

Maggie recognises the pendant straight away: The Saint Jude Pendant.

Maggie half smiles as she runs her fingers slowly over the pendant. "The Saint of lost causes." she says.

Hal pauses before he says, "There's no such thing as a lost cause. Not when there are people still willing to fight for it."

Maggie meets Hal's gaze as she asks, "When did you become so wise?"

Hal replies, with a smile, "I've always been wise."

The smile still remains on his face as he says, reassuringly, "Go back to sleep, Maggie. I'm here."

These words are supposed to reassure her but they don't because he can't protect her from her dreams, her nightmares, her memories or the darkness that lurks within each of them and still follows her in reality.

* * *

When Maggie wakes in the early morning she finds that the room is lit up in a soft orange light. The morning sun has seeped through the blinds and fallen down softly into the room.

Upon waking Maggie feels something a little too familiar; someone else's breath down the back of her neck. Suddenly, she becomes aware that there is someone in the bed beside her.

The haunting memories come back to her in flashes; they torment her and haunt her. These hauntings seem so real. They cause Maggie to jump up in bed so fast that her head spins and her body aches so badly. She wakes Hal as she does this; he nearly jumps out of the bed at the movement as he'd believed something to be wrong with Maggie.

"Maggie?" he says; frowning slightly he rubs his eyes so that he may better see her.

"What are you doing - why, I-" Maggie stutters and then stops.

She closes her eyes slowly as she allows a cool, slightly shaken, breath of air to enter her lips and soothe her.

Hal begins, softly, "Maggie..."

Maggie cuts him off, without listen to his words. "Don't, Hal." she tells him. "Go, please. Just get out." she adds.

Hal silently watches Maggie for a moment; he does not wish to leave her and leaves things as they are. He wants to say something, anything, to her but words fail him and he finds that all that he can do is give Maggie the distance that she wants, again. He pulls himself slowly from her bed and grabs his gun, which he'd rested on the chair by the beside. He pauses and glances back once more at Maggie who he finds is as still and emotionless as a statue made of stone and so he leaves her because he's not sure what else he can do to fix this.

* * *

As Hal walks down the hallway, in the direction of the kitchen, he finds Tom stepping out a hospital room with Doctor Glass right by his side.

"I'll see you later." Anne says, smiling. She leans in and gives Tom a quick kiss before she turns away and heads off in the direction of her patients.

As Tom turns to walk in the opposite direction he finds Hal watching him with a grin on his face.

"What?" Tom asks, with a smile of his own.

"Looks like I caught you on the walk of shame." Hal says; as he speaks he is unable to stop the grin from spreading on his features.

"Hey!" Tom exclaims. "You did not." he answers; as he speaks he tries to hide an obvious smile.

"Yeah, you just had a sleepover." Hal says, sarcastically.

Tom, who allows himself to smile now, asks, "How's Maggie? Are you- Are you on your own walk of shame? Hal, do we need to have the talk?"

"No, Dad, no. No. Just - No." Hal replies, so very quickly; as he speaks he shakes his head several times. "Let's just get breakfast, okay?" he suggests.

Tom turns towards Hal as he says, "Anne said that she should be fine."

Despite that Hal isn't saying anything, and isn't voicing his concerns and worries about Maggie, Tom can clearly see that Hal is worried about her.

"Uh, yeah she's ok. She's fine. I'm actually not hungry." Hal says; he takes a slight step back from Tom as he continues, "I'll go check on Ben and Matt, you get something to eat."

Tom takes a step towards Hal as he asks, with an expression of deep concern on his face, "Hal, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Dad, I'm fine. I'm fine." Hal says; as he speaks he smiles at Tom in an attempt to reassure his father that he is fine but Tom doesn't believe it in the slightest.

* * *

As Anne turns and spots Hal moving down the hallway of the hospital, she smiles kindly at him and says, "Hal, Maggie wants to see you."

This news, that Maggie wants to see him, surprises Hal greatly and he pauses before he nods and replies, "Thanks."

When Hal enters Maggie's room he finds her sitting up in her bed; in her hand he finds she is holding the Saint Jude pendant.

Upon catching sight of Hal, Maggie smiles weakly. "Hey." she says. She continues, as she lowers her gaze down to the pendant, "Hal, I'm sorry..."

Hal begins, "You don't have anything to be-"

Maggie cuts him off, though, because she does believe that she has something to apologise for.

"Yeah, I do, Hal. I'm sorry." she says; and as those words pass her lips she holds out her hand to him with the pendant resting in it.

"I heard you're on patrol today, with Dai." she states. She pauses before she continues, "How about...We take turns with the pendant. It'll be like I'm there today."

Maggie glances down, almost nervously, at her hand and then she slowly lifts her gaze back up to meet Hal's.

He smiles at her and says, "I'll keep it safe."

"Not with those feet of yours." Maggie replies, as Hal takes the pendant from her hands.

He grins at this and moves towards the door. As he reaches he answers, "You better hurry up and get better. I need my partner out there to make sure I don't scrape my heels."

* * *

**A/N: This is my first Fanfiction, I was a little nervous posting it. A lot of this chapter is based around what happened in Falling Skies season 2 episode 5, with my own additions and ideas added to it. I've got many more good ideas of my own for future chapters which I've already written...So please let me know if I should continue with it and post more?  
**  
**:)**


	2. Never look back

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The silence which floats between Maggie and Hal on their first patrol since she was injured is a new and unusual one. It is not an uncomfortable one but it is not one that Hal would wish for them to stay in. Maggie knows the reason behind Hal's silence. It's her fault. It's because she won't give them a chance.

She won't give them a chance because they don't have a chance in this world. She knows it and it's only a matter of time before Hal knows it to.

Hal, who had been considering what it was he was going to say to Maggie, spots something odd nearby; a pair of dirty feet hidden underneath leaves and shrubbery.

Hal yells out, loudly, to Maggie, "There's someone there."

While trying her best to maintain her composure, Maggie calls back, "There's more over here."

She and Hal uncover at least a dozen bodies of dead, de-harnessed children. The sight of these dead children is something that the two of them will never truly be able to forget. The last body that Hal rolls over is the last person that he had ever expected to see again; he finds Karen gasping for air as the leaves are pulled away.

Her eyes, which are momentarily blinded by the bright light of the sun, find Hal and as she does she reaches towards him. Only seconds later she passes out. Hal, quickly, removes his jacket and covers Karen with it. With her tightly in his arms he carries her towards the hospital.

As he and Karen, and Maggie, reach the hospital all who are outside are shocked and stunned to see Hal holding Karen. Tom walks towards them first; his expression is that of a highly mixed but unreadable one. Anne, who insists that they bring Karen inside the hospital, moves towards the stairs with Hal by her side.

But, before Hal moves any further, Ben calls out, "Don't let her stay. She's still attached to them."

Hal frowns deeply at this, and replies, "What? Are you insane?"

Ben answers, "No but you are if you think she isn't going to lead them right to us."

Tom, who has taken over temporarily while Weaver recovers from a slightly serious injury, allows Karen to be let inside the hospital but insists that she be put into the further end of the hospital where she is to remain under constant guard.

After Karen has been settled in, and checked over by Anne who determines that she is in a well state, Tom decides that now would be the best time to have a word with her or whatever it is that is controlling her.

Tom begins, with a loud tone, "You don't move from here until we-"

"Make sure I'm not still connected to them?" she asks, finishing Tom's sentence before he can.

Tom answers, "Yes."

Despite that Tom knows Hal must be feeling joyed that they have Karen back, he does not feel the same. Instead, he is incredibly wary of her because they cannot know with certain that she is who she claims to be.

* * *

As Maggie spots Hal, stepping out of the room that Karen had been placed in, she calls out, "Hal."

As he catches sight of Maggie he asks, "What are you doing here?"

This question puzzles Maggie, greatly. She wonders why Hal would ask her what it is she was doing here. They're partners; he said it himself. They need and depend on each other. She is here so that he may depend on her, if he needs to.

Hal glances back briefly through the bars over Karen's room; he sees that she appears to be sleeping.

As Maggie follows Hal's gaze, towards Karen, she tenses up a little. "I'm on watch. How are you?"

"I'm fine." he replies, quickly.

As another moment of silence builds up between them, Maggie takes a slight step away from Hal and asks, "How's Karen?"

Hal pauses before he replies, honestly, "She's ok...I just - I don't understand why they are treating her like this. I know her and she is not the enemy."

"They're just playing is safe, Hal." Maggie answers. "She was harnessed for months, longer than Ben or Rick, they don't-"

"You don't trust her?" Hal asks; the anger rises in his voice as he speaks.

Maggie lets out a small sigh before she begins, "Hal..."

"I know her." Hal repeats. "She's not the enemy." he says; he's almost yelling, now.

Hal lets out a very deep breath as he shakes his head. He looks down, briefly, at Maggie as he begins, "If you want to believe them-"

"I don't know what to believe, Hal." Maggie says, quickly speaking over Hal. "None of us do."

Maggie hesitates before she gently takes Hal's left hand. He calms down, noticeably, at this and his expression changes into that of a more gently one. "It's just..." Maggie begins.

The words get caught in her throat though as she looks up to find Karen standing before them on the opposite side of the bars. Her eyes dart outside the room and eventually fall down on to Hal's hand, which is holding Maggie's. Hal notices this and for some reason, that Maggie's not sure that she will ever understand, he pulls his hand away from Maggie's.

"Karen..." he begins. "How are you?" he asks her; as he speaks he turns so that he is looking directly at her.

She smiles weakly as she replies, "I'm okay. I was actually hoping that you'd be out here...I don't – this might sound weird but I don't want to be alone in here. I can't be alone in here."

As she speaks she shakes her head, repeatedly; her voice cracks as those last word pass her lips and she grabs at her throat. "I'm sorry." she adds.

"No, no, don't be." Hal replies, so very quickly. "It's fine. I don't mind staying." he insists."

She smiles, at Hal, before she answers, "Thanks, Hal."

As Karen turns to return to her bed she casts a quick but detailed look over Maggie. This causes Maggie to frown slightly as she turns towards Hal.

"I uh...I should be in there with her." Hal tells her.

But Maggie doesn't hear the first part as those last words enter her mind. All that she hears is Hal saying, "I should be with her."

Maggie nods once and as she does she lowers her gaze down to her combat boots. "Whatever you need to do." she answers.

Hal manages a small smile before he says, "I'll see you later."

As Hal disappears inside Karen's room, Maggie walks towards the wall and slides down it. Once she is resting on the ground she pulls out a photograph which she silently stares at for a minute before she shoves it back into her pocket. She pulls out the knife which she usually sleeps with and holds it in her hand; ready for whatever may come out of the darkness.

* * *

Over the next three days, it seems that the more time that Hal spends with Karen the less time he spends with Maggie. It is as if he is distancing himself from Maggie so that he may be closer to Karen. It both worries and bothers Tom how much time Hal is spending with Karen; he doesn't trust her, or it, and he doesn't know if she is still connected to the Overlord and if they are all flies stuck in a deadly trap waiting for their deaths.

There are so many things that could go wrong but Hal doesn't see that. All that he sees is Karen and that he got her back like he always said that he would. Tom doesn't say anything to Hal, though; he keeps these thoughts to himself. He makes sure that there is always someone, apart from Hal, around Karen to watch her so that they may be ready for whatever may happen.

Pope, who had somehow managed to find the hospital that the Second Mass were occupying, returns with Anthony. He returns in need of an audience with Weaver while Anthony returns in need of medical attention from Doctor Glass.

Pope and Anthony, who are escorted by Dai and Tom, walk down the hospital corridors; they are both covered in dirt and blood and Pope doesn't seem to notice or care about either. He seems more concerned about gaining an audience with Weaver. Why exactly he wishes for such a thing he will not say.

Hal walks behind Pope and Anthony so as to keep a close eye on Pope because if he does anything to Tom ever again, Hal isn't sure that he will be able to stop himself from hurting Pope to protect his father. He won't let Pope hurt his family, ever. He'll protect them until his last breath.

"Wait here." Dai orders, Pope.

He steps away from Pope and walks towards Weaver's room. Once inside, he closes the door and leaves Pope waiting in the corridor.

Ben, who has only joined them moments ago, helps Anthony limp towards the room Anne is waiting for him in.

"I must say..." Pope begins. "This is an improvement from the last place." he says, to no one in particular.

As Pope inspects the walls of the hospital he glances up to see Maggie walking down the corridor. She walks with a gun in her hands, no surprise there, no smile on her face and a mixture of darkness and hatred in her eyes as always. But, Pope seems to be the only one who can see this darkness in her.

As Maggie walks past Pope without a glance, he calls out, "That's not a very nice hello!"

"You know...I must say, Mags, I am very surprised to see you in a hospital for one and at night. You conquered two fears at once. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. Bravo," Pope says; as he speaks the grin on his features widens greatly.

As those last words echo in Maggie's mind she stops walking. Pope knew that she would; he knows her better than she would care to admit.

She steps past Tom and towards Pope; in a swift movement she grabs Pope around the throat with her right hand and slams him violently back into the wall. She does not release he grip around his throat despite that Tom calls out to her and rests a gentle hand on her shoulder in an attempt to pull her back.

Hal rushes towards Maggie's side and upon reaching it he calls out, "Maggie."

He places a hand on her shoulder as he says, "Maggie, come on."

For some reason, Hal's words register to Maggie and she listens. She releases her grip of Pope and pushes him back into the wall as she dos so. She pauses before she steps back towards Hal.

As Pope quickly rubs his hand over his raw throat he yells out, "Guess you haven't conquered the night yet!"

Hal quickly directs Maggie into a nearby, empty, hospital room. He closes the door of the room and turns to face Maggie but finds that she isn't facing him but rather the window; her eyes are glued to the window and all on the outside.

Hal asks her, "What was that?"

"He's an ass." she says; she answers as though it was nothing but it wasn't nothing.

Hal knows that it wasn't nothing.

"What's going on?" he asks her.

Maggie turns towards Hal and finds that he is watching her intently with those deep hazel eyes of his. Maggie shakes her head; those damn hazel eyes that make her feel like a completely different person. Those eyes that make her want to open up, share her secrets and bare her soul. No, she thinks, still shaking her head. Don't fall for it, Maggie. You can't.

She can't fall for it because it isn't fair. It's not right. His heart is pure. He's a pure, good soul.

As he takes a step towards Maggie, he calls out, "Maggie?"

She appears to be in some sort of daze and this causes Hal great worry.

"What?" she asks; a small frown appears on her features as she speaks and when she is done she steps towards the door in an attempt to leave.

Hal moves as Maggie does and steps in front of her so that he is blocking her from leaving.

"He's an ass." she repeats.

Maggie doesn't want to have this conversation. She doesn't know why Hal is being so persistent for.

"Pope's always been an ass." Hal states. "You've restrained yourself in the past. What's going on?" he asks; he still continues to watch her as he speaks.

"When are we moving on?" Maggie asks him. As she continues she lifts her right hand to the side of her head and scratches it. "I feel, uh..." she mutters. "Enclosed, trapped, suffocated - something like that." she adds.

Maggie couldn't explain to Hal what it is she feels and how she feels. She doesn't believe that he would understand. She doesn't believe that anyone would understand.

But Hal does understand. He knows what it's like to feel enclosed, trapped and suffocated and he believes that he has a solution for how Maggie is feeling.

"Come with me." Hal says, simply.

He silently leads her through many corridors and up staircases until they reach the roof of the hospital which he finds is empty. As she steps out on to the roof Maggie takes in a deep breath of cool air. She closes her eyes for a moment and allows everything to float away. But, it's only a moment of momentary peace and these moments never last.

"Stop watching me, Hal." Maggie tells her.

With her eyes closed, Maggie had still known that Hal was watching her still with his hazel eyes.

Hal lets out a small sigh before he admits, "I'm worried about you."

Maggie opens her eyes, slowly, now and follows Hal as he walks towards the edge of the roof.

"Don't be." she says; as she speaks she sits down, as Hal does, on the edge.

They sit with their feet dangling over the edge, their life dangling over the edge; life can come and go so quickly and it could be gone before you had the chance to take it.

"Here." Maggie says; she removes the Saint Jude necklace from her neck, which Hal had given her back before their first patrol, and passes it to Hal. "Your turn." she adds, with a small smile.

"Thanks." Hal answers, smiling back. He takes the necklace and carefully puts it into his pocket.

Once it is safe in his pocket he turns towards Maggie and says, "Maggie."

"Hal." she answers, with a small smile, as she turns away from him and stares out into the distance.

Hal pauses before he asks the question that has been troubling him for quite some time.

"What's going on?" he asks.

Maggie lets out the smallest sigh as she continues to gaze out at the distance.

The distance holds a certain hope that the present moment doesn't hold, not right now anyway.

"Don't worry about it, Hal." she says, simply, as if it is so easy for Hal not to worry about her. "You have enough to worry about, at the moment." she adds.

"Like you." Hal states.

"No." Maggie answers; she turns to look at Hal as she speaks. She hesitates before she says, "Like yourself. Your family...Karen."

As a smile spreads across Hal's face Maggie frowns, slightly. She doesn't understand why he would be smiling right now.

"What?" she asks.

"You worry about me." he answers; he speaks as though it is news to him.

Maggie manages a small smile as she replies, "You sound surprised."

She hesitates before she adds, "You're my partner. Of course I care, Hal."

While still maintaining Maggie's eye contact, Hal asks, "So, you haven't been avoiding me?"

He drops his gaze slightly as he waits for Maggie's answer.

"Don't be such a girl." she answers, teasing.

They both laugh for such a long time, for what feels like the first time in so long, at this. It's the first time that they laughed since they talked about Jazz pants.

Hal, who still continues to smile, admits, "It's good to hear you laugh."

And it is so very good to hear Maggie laugh. He loves hearing the sound. He loves knowing that as she laughs she is happy and that's all he wants. He wants her to be happy and safe.

"It's good to see you." Maggie tells him. "I haven't for a while." she adds; those last words, as they pass her lips, sound sad to Hal.

Hal lifts his gaze towards Maggie and as he does he sees the smile on her lips falter. Her eyes falter from his lips and then to his eyes. Those damn hazel eyes, she thinks. So powerful that they intoxicate her with just one glance. They give her a feeling she's never felt before.

Despite what her head is telling her, Maggie moves closer to Hal because she's listening to something else; her heart, she thinks, but she can't be certain. Whatever it is, she listens to it and edges closer to Hal.

Their eyes remain locked with the others as Maggie leans in, a little closer.

She so badly wants to feel this, to feel something, because she knows that there is something here and it could be something great.

But, her feelings don't matter. They can't. Not in this world. There are too many problems, too many things going on, in the world. She can't do this. Hal is a leader, as is she, and they need to lead people; they can't afford to be distracted.

"Hal..." Maggie begins.

Hal lets out a deep sigh before he closes his eyes. He knows what she is going to say before she says it.

Just as Maggie is about to speak they are interrupted by Dai, who loudly steps out onto the roof.

"Hal?" he calls out; upon catching sight of Maggie and Hal and of the closeness of the two of them he adds, "I'm sorry!"

"Dai." Hal calls back. "What's up brother?" he asks, as he turns to look at Dai.

"Just finished my watch. Anne went in - Karen wants to see you." he says. "Oh, and Anthony's back. Pope requested a meeting with Captain, told him to keep Anthony, Anthony didn't object. He wanted to come back to the Second Mass." Dai adds; he flashes them both a quick smile before disappearing from the rooftop.

"I, uh...I should..." Hal begins but stops as Maggie abruptly cuts him off.

"Yeah, you should." Maggie says.

As Hal turns to look at Maggie he finds that she is staring back out at the distance again and he wonders just what it is exactly she is looking at, searching for or thinking of.

"You, uh...You'll be okay?" he asks; as he speaks he stands.

Despite that he knows that he should go to see Karen, because she'd asked to see him, he is reluctant to leave Maggie.

"Mmm." Maggie mutters.

When she finally turns towards where Hal had previously stood she finds that he is gone.

* * *

As Hal steps inside Karen's room he glances upon her and asks, "Karen, is everything okay?"

He finds that she is sitting on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. She stands up from the bed the very second that Hal first speaks.

"Thank god you're here." she states; she moves towards him and wraps her arms tightly around his chest.

Hal slowly lifts his arms around Karen and as he does he can't help but think that this should feel like it used to, between them, but it doesn't. Something is missing. Something is gone.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I can't be alone." she tells him. "I keep having these terrible, terrible nightmares. I hate staying in here, by myself, but I – they think I'm the enemy, Hal. I'm not, you know that."

Hal nods, as he answers, reassuringly, "It's ok. I know you're not. I know."

Karen continues, with a more desperate tone, "I need you, Hal, you're all I have. I need you. Will you stay with me tonight?" She asks.

Hal nods as he replies, "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Karen smiles as she hears these words. "I knew that I could count on you. I always could.

After resting for a short time, that time, Karen wakes to find Hal sitting by her bedside as he'd promised her he would. She tells him about how starving she is and then talks of how isolated and alone she feels in this room. Hal leaves, briefly, and after a somewhat heated conversation with Tom he returns and tells Karen that she is allowed to leave her room, for the remainder of tonight, to go to the cafeteria for dinner. But, she is to be under constant watch by guards the entire time.

Hal plans to join Karen but he crashes in his bed in the Mason family room., after only lying down for a minute, and allows sleep to take him.

Tector and Boon take first watch of Karen. She's quiet as she waits in the line, until Maggie walks past her towards a table.

"Margaret, right?" Karen calls out.

Maggie stops, slowly, as Karen speaks to her and with slight hesitation she turns to face her.

"Maggie." she corrects her.

"Oh." Karen says. "Right, Maggie, sorry." she adds, smiling sweetly at Maggie as she speaks. "Hal has told me so much about you." she tells her.

Maggie nods once but otherwise remains silent and stiff; she doubts that Hal has told Karen that much about her since he knows little himself.

"I actually just came from seeing Hal. He isn't feeling well and he was hoping you could take his shift tonight, for patrol." Karen says; as she speaks she steps out of the line and moves closer towards Maggie.

Karen continues, with a lower tone, "You're on the shift with Dai, he's waiting for Hal to come out. You're supposed to patrol out into the town." Karen adds

She notices the frown forming on to Maggie's face and so she continues. "If Dai has already left you're supposed to catch up with him and do the patrol together. It isn't safe out there, alone. Here." Karen says.

She pauses so that she may remove a silver chain from her pocket. She holds it out to Maggie to reveal that it is The Saint Jude Pendant.

Maggie, who still continues to frown, quickly takes the pendant from Karen and ties it around her neck.

"Uh, can you tell Hal that I hope he gets better?" she asks; her tone is that of an incredibly impassive one.

Karen nods once and with a small, innocent smile she replies, "I will."

As Maggie moves towards the doors, leading towards the hallway, Tector calls out to her.

"Maggie." he says. "What did she say to you?" he asks; as he speaks he takes a step towards her.

"Something about Hal." she tells him. "Not important. I've got to go." she adds.

* * *

Maggie searches thoroughly outside the front of the hospital for Dai but she does not find him. She rides towards the point where he should have been waiting for her but again she does not find him.

Being out here alone doesn't feel right to Maggie but if Dai is out there she has to find him and meet up with him.

So, she continues riding on her bike until she reaches the town that they were supposed to patrol together.

It's dark and strangely quiet until she hears the snapping of a twig, the all too familiar scuttling sound of a skitter approaching, and then a dark, humming sound moving towards her.

She puts her foot down onto the accelerator but it's jammed up; something is wrong. The bike won't start up; it won't move.

The rest becomes a darkness to Maggie that she cannot fight. She cannot stop it from swallowing her up entirely.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for all of the feedback and reviews! I'm glad that you guys liked it. This chapter has a little bit from the episode 2x06, about Karen being found but I wanted to add my own stuff too it, but apart from that the rest are my own ideas.. I've got more Mason family bonding and Maggie/Pope bonding scenes coming up in future chapters, (Not so much bonding between Maggie and Pope, a small, tiny amount of something like mutual respect)...So, please let me know what you guys think about this one?**

:)


	3. Haunting shadows

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

When Maggie wakes from the darkness her entire body aches with pain; the pain consumes her almost entirely. The pain is significantly worse on the left side of her body and every breath which she takes pains her. She wakes in darkness; her head throbs painfully and her eyes are blurry.

She cannot see where she is and all that she can see is a small flicker of fire burning in the distance. When her eyes finally focus the first and the only thing that she sees is blood; it's all over her.

She looks up in the direction of the fire, which is only a few feet away from her, to find Pope kneeling by the fire. As he catches sight of her he stands and begins walking towards her.

Maggie tries to back away from him; she tries but she is helpless. She cannot move; she's stuck against a wall and all that she can see are the hauntings in her head. The hauntings of her time spent with Pope and his crew.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Pope says; he speaks these words after noticing her somewhat panicked state.

He kneels down beside her with an unreadable expression on his dirtied and bloodied face.

Maggie tries to answer but finds that she can't; her throat is so very dry with blood.

"Don't try to move. You're hurt real bad." he tells her; he speaks honestly and doesn't sugar coat it.

She deserves the truth and that's the least that he can give her.

"What happened?" she asks, after managing to clear her throat slightly.

Pope stands up and steps towards his bag. As he begins to search through it he says, "Why don't you tell me? I found you, half dead and alone."

The memories come back to her in flashes; soon enough they slow down and she can see them clearly.

"Drink this." Pope says.

He extends the bottle to Maggie from where he kneels beside his bag. She tries to lift her left arm to reach the bottle but she is hit with such an overwhelming pain that she cannot.

She takes in a deep, sharp breath as the pain worsens.

Pope lets out a small sigh before he moves so that he is closer to Maggie. He presses the bottle to her lips, allowing her to drink from it.

"Thanks..." she mutters, when he has pulled the bottle away.

"So..." he begins. "What happened?" he asks.

He watches silently as a badly bruised, burned and bloodied Maggie slowly pulls herself up so that her back is leaning against the brick wall of the half destroyed house they are taking shelter behind.

She closes her eyes as she mutters, "I was out on patrol."

Maggie pauses for a moment and when she finally speaks her voice is much lower. "And uh...my bike stuffed up. I don't know – I had to get off it… And these two skitters came out of nowhere."

She trails off momentarily as she fights the desire to fall asleep. She feels too weak to stay awake, too weak to stay alive, and if she closes her eyes now she's cannot know with certainty that it will be sleeping she will be falling into.

"Stay awake." Pope orders.

Maggie listens to Pope's words but continues to keep her eyes closed. "The, uh, skitters attacked me. The first, stabbed its pincers, or whatever, into my – my stomach," she says; she stops only as she is forced to breath in sharply due to the pain worsening. "The second – just under my collar bone. I shot them both but then this mech came out of nowhere – I was alone, I couldn't move…and the skitter jumped up at me as the mech fired."

As he looks at the burns on the left side of her neck, from a distance, Pope mutters, "That explains the burns."

"How bad is it?" Maggie asks; as she speaks she reopens her eyes to meet Pope's gaze.

"I haven't taken a look." he replies.

"Look, please, Pope." she says; as the words pass her dry and bloodied lips she closes her eyes again.

As Pope slowly pulls up the left side of Maggie's tank top he curses silently to himself. There's too much damn blood for him to see all of her wounds or the full extent of these wounds but from what he can see it doesn't look good.

"How bad it is...Honestly?" she asks, still with her eyes closed.

Pope sighs before he begins, "Honestly."

Honestly, Pope thinks that Maggie is going to die. The burns are almost a death sentence, no one has ever survived a mech blast, and the skitter wounds are so very bad. Her odds aren't good at all.

"You're going to die if you don't get to a doctor." he tells her. "I thought they'd have someone out looking for you, hmm? Why were you on patrol alone anyway?" he asks; as he speaks he takes a seat down beside Maggie.

She opens her eyes, now, as those last words replay through her mind. But she doesn't look at pope. Her eyes continue to stare down at the burning fire.

Its flame is so low, so little, and so weak. It could go out at any moment from the strong force of the wind. That's how she feels, right now. The little life that she has left is flickering out and it could go out at any moment.

Maggie doesn't answer Pope because not only does she not have the strength to she also doesn't hold the answers to those questions.

"I'll fix your bike,..." Pope begins; he stands from Maggie's side as he speaks. "Then, I'll drive you back. We have to go within the hour or you're going to die. You won't make it to morning." he adds.

"Don't sugar coat it, Pope." Maggie says, with such a low tone that he almost misses it.

"I'm all honesty, baby." he tells her, with a small smile. "I'll pack up, then get on to your bike. Don't you go dying on me. I'm not good at digging graves."

* * *

As Tom steps towards Weaver, who is standing out the front of the hospital beside a few of the vehicles, he says, "We still haven't located Maggie. Hal thinks she may have gone out for fresh air. Her bike is gone, so she may have gone a little further out than we first thought."

"Send Dai and Hal out on the-" Weaver begins but he stops, however, as his attention is pulled in another direction.

He sees, in the distance, a motorbike riding towards them; Maggie's bike.

"Margaret?" Weaver asks; he glances back to Tom as he speaks.

Tom, who continues looking out towards the rider, shakes his head and answers, "Pope."

As Pope had pulled his bike up to a stop, a few meters away from the front of the hospital, he'd found that some of the fighters had gathered together so as to stop him from entering the hospital.

"What are you doing back here, Pope?" Weaver calls out, loudly. "I thought that the message was clear." he adds.

When they had approached Pope, he had been off of his bike already with his back turned towards them.

"Crystal clear, Captain." he says; he speaks with a smirk that, although they cannot see his face, they know that he is wearing.

"I'm not here for me." he announces, loudly. "I'm here for Maggie." he adds; he continues to keep his back to them and moves as though he is tending to something.

"What did you do to her?" Tom asks; he takes a step forward with his gun readied in his hands.

"What did I do to her?!" he asks. He continues with a much louder voice, "The question is, Mason, what didn't you do for her?"

As those words pass his lips he picks up Maggie's limp body from the back of his bike; he turns around slowly with her resting in his arms. She's barely conscious and almost entirely covered in blood and dark cuts and bruises. A painful looking burn runs down her left cheek. Pope's arms and shirts are stained with her blood but he doesn't notice or care for it.

"I thought that the Second Mass was all about 'love, community spirit and hugs', yet, you left her to die?" Pope asks; as he speaks he moves forward with Maggie still securely in his arms.

Tom, however, blocks Pope's path towards the hospital.

"Move out of my way, Mason, unless you want her to die." Pope threatens.

Tom glances back at Weaver who nods once, indicating that he should let Pope through for Maggie's sake.

"Follow me, upstairs, to one of the operating." Anne instructs Pope, as the two move through the hospital.

"Really? I was going to take her to the cafeteria for some soup." he mutters, underneath his breath, as he follows Anne up through the hospital to the second level where the most and best medical supplies are.

Pope spots Hal, who is with a familiar blond, in a room with Lourdes. He sighs loudly. Great, another angry Mason, Pope thinks as he watches Hal quickly step out of the room.

"What the hell are you doing-" Hal begins; he comes to an abrupt stop however as his eyes set down on an almost unrecognizable Maggie.

Pope ignores Hal and continues following Anne towards the hospital room; once inside he sets Maggie's body down onto the operating table.

"What did you do to her?" Hal asks; as he speaks he rushes towards Maggie's side.

Lourdes has also joined them in the room and she stands by Anne's side, listening to her instructions.

Pope lets out a small laugh before he sighs and states,"You Mason boys are always quick to blame someone else, aren't you?."

"Get out, Pope." Anne says; as she speaks she pushes Pope in the direction of the door. "I need room." she adds.

Pope doesn't fight her; instead, he looks back once at Maggie before he leaves.

"Is she - Is she going to be alright?" Hal asks; the fear in his voice rises as he speaks.

"I don't know, Hal." Anne answers, quickly.

Tom, who has just stepped through the doorway, tells Hal, "This isn't your fault."

He can see the anger and pain in his son's eyes. Tom rests his hand on Hal's shoulder but Hal doesn't hear him, he doesn't see him – all he can see is Maggie soaked in blood. Tom's grip tightens on Hal's shoulder as Anne attempts to move Maggie's arm from her jacket but the pain is too much for Maggie. Even in the state she is in, drifting between conscious and unconscious, she feels it. She grips onto the edge of the table; an involuntary cry escapes her lips.

"We need room." Lourdes says; as she speaks she ushers Tom and Hal towards the door.

They, reluctantly, step out of the room and allow Lourdes to close the door so they cannot look in.

Tom turns towards Hal and with a softer voice he says, "Hal, I know what you're thinking but this isn't your fault."

Hal doesn't believe him, though. He doesn't answer either. Instead, he simply shakes his head.

Pope, who is resting against the hospital wall a few feet away, adds, "Listen to your Dad, Mason Junior. It's not just your fault but rather a failure of the whole Second Mass."

Weaver takes a step forward as he says, "I'm warning you Pope."

These words only anger Pope further and he pauses before he says, "What are you going to do? Kick me out? Well, you already did that, twice. I'm just telling the truth, Captain, the Second Mass is falling apart. If someone falls behind they're left behind-"

"We searched for her." Weaver cuts in.

"Well, you didn't look very hard, did you?" Pope asks; he tilts his head to the side before he continues, "I found her without trying. Look at her – she's moments from death."

"What are you still doing here Pope?" Tom asks; he raises his voice as he continues, "Don't you recall our last meeting? You're not wanted or needed here."

"Believe me when I say, Mason..." Pope begins; as he speaks he takes a step towards Tom. "That this is the last place on earth that I want to be. But I'm not leaving without Maggie." he adds.

Hal, who is so incredibly angered by the very thought of Pope believing Maggie would voluntarily leave with him, steps forward. "Like hell you're leaving with her." he says; and it sounds as though Hal is warning Pope to stay away from Maggie.

With the beginnings of a smirk, Pope says, "You ever think that she might want to leave with me? I can't see her wanting to stick around after-"

"After everything you and your crew put her through..." Hal begins; he takes another step forward as he continues. "You're the last person she would leave with."

"If it came down to it, Mason Junior...I'd save her life over a bunch of razorbacks. Can't say the same about you, though. But, at least you got your 'good' girlfriend back." Pope says; the smirk only widens on his features as he speaks and his voice rings with an anger that is clear for all to hear.

"You're out of line, Pope." Weaver warns him.

"She's lying in there half cut up by skitters and half burnt to hell by a mech – I saved her life, I didn't leave her to die– But I'm out of line?" Pope asks; how absurd he finds such a situation is clear on his face and in his voice.

He shakes his head once as he angrily mutters something to himself and steps past Tom, Hal and Weaver.

* * *

As Weaver steps into his room, with Tom close behind him, he turns towards Tom and lets out a small sigh.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." he begins. "Pope's right." he adds. "We left her behind, Tom, if she dies it's my fault." he says; his tone is that of a much sadder and guilty one as he lowers his gaze away from Tom.

Tom shakes his head, once, before he says, "This isn't your fault. Don't let Pope get in your head. That's what he wants. Maggie will be ok. She's strong.

"Jimmy was a strong boy and look what happened to him. One skitter got him and he died..." Weaver begins. He continues with a slightly louder voice, "Two skitters got Maggie, Tom, and a mech. I want to know why the hell she was out there alone? Someone should have been there with her!"

"I'll go check on her, Dan. And get an update from Anne. Maggie is good hands, okay? Sit down, get off that leg. Or, I'll have Anne sedate you again." Tom says; as those last words pass his lips, about Anne sedating Weaver, Tom manages to coax a small smile out of Dan.

* * *

When Tom arrives at Maggie's room he finds that Hal is sitting on the floor outside the room, resting against the cold wall. Without hesitation, Tom joins Hal's side and takes a seat by him on the ground.

"How is she?" Tom asks.

Hal takes a moment to answer and when he does Tom knows that Hal is lying. "Fine." he answers.

"Hal..." Tom begins; his tone is that of a soft, caring, gentle one.

He doesn't believe that this is Hal's fault at all or anyone's fault. He doesn't believe that Hal should be feeling such guilt over a situation that was out of his control.

"I should have been there, Dad..." Hal begins. "She shouldn't have been alone. It's my fault." he adds; as he speaks he is careful to avoid his father's gaze.

"You couldn't have known, Hal." Tom tells him.

"I should have." Hal replies; he answers with no hesitation at all. "This world isn't safe. I should have known…" Hal mutters; his eyes fall down to his hands for a momenta and when he looks up again he finds that Ben is moving towards them.

"Why don't you go and see Karen? If Maggie makes any process, I'll come and get you." Tom tells him; he suggests that Tom go to see Karen because it might, for some time, shift the guilt from Hal's shoulders.

After a moment of silent consideration and hesitation, Hal nods. After all of this time, Hal still feels something for Karen but what it is exactly he feels for Karen he is uncertain. It isn't what he felt for her before, though, he knows that much.

As Hal's feet lead him towards Karen he feels as though he should be with Maggie.

* * *

Tom and Ben speak briefly; Ben inquires about Maggie's current state to which Tom replies that she should be good in time but he cannot know with certainty whether that is the truth. Ben leaves Tom so that he may find Matt, and get some rest, so Tom decides that he will enter the room now.

As he steps through the door he finds Anne standing before him with her shirt and arms covered with blood.

"How is she?" he asks; his voice is that of a quiet one as he takes another step towards her.

Anne lets out a small sigh before she answers, "It's up to her, now."

"You did the best that you could do, you always do." Tom says; as he speaks he takes Anne's hands in his and squeezes them tightly.

"I always feel like there is more that I could do - more that I should do." she admits, with a much lower voice.

"You do too much, already." Tom replies.

Anne glances down at her shirt, and her arms, before she says, "I, uh, I should go get changed. I'll frighten the other patients like this. Can you watch Maggie, please Tom? Lourdes is only two rooms down if you need something."

"Sure." Tom answers; as he finishes speaking he leans down and presses a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I'll be right back." she tells him, with a small smile, before she disappears from the room.

Tom gazes down upon Maggie, watching her intently for any sign that something might be wrong or that she could be in pain. He cannot help but notice how frighteningly pale she is.

The burns on her body have been covered in bandages but some of the blood has seeped through. They will need to be changed soon. Tom also knows that the bandage on her stomach will need to be changed as a small amount of blood has seeped through onto the large, clean, white shirt that Anne changed her into.

Her arms and her left cheek are also covered with bandages as are various more parts of her body; the lower half of her body has been covered with a thin, white bed sheet.

In this moment Tom thinks of his sons and how the thought of any of them being in any amount of pain is too painful for him. He also thinks of how much he has grown to care for Maggie and how he does not wish for anything to happen to her.

Tom's thoughts are interrupted by Hal who enters the room; his expression is that of an incredibly grim one as he walks towards Tom's side and stands next to him.

Tom can see, clearly, that Hal is struggling with many emotions which he is attempting to not allow show.

"What did Anne say?" Hal asks; as he speaks his eyes remaining on Maggie.

Tom rests a gentle, reassuring hand on Hal's right shoulder as he says, "Most of the burns are second degree, some are third. There's still a high risk of infection and she lost a lot of blood – It's up to her now."

* * *

After three days spent drifting in and out of consciousness, in and out of hauntings, Maggie finally wakes. When she does wake she wakes alone, frightened and unable to move without feeling such an intense amount of pain.

She attempts to life hr neck but she cannot as the pain is too overwhelming to do so right now. Anne appears seconds after she wakes and leans over Maggie with a warm smile on her face.

"It's good to have you back." she tells her, kindly.

Maggie doesn't respond to Anne because she feels too tired and too weak to. She closes her eyes for what feels like a moment bu could have been much longer than that. As he eyes finally open, again, she finds that Hal is by her side.

He smiles at her as she opens her eyes. "Hey." he says. "How are you?" he asks.

Maggie wants to answer Hal, to ask him where he was and why he didn't come to save her, but her throat is so dry with blood that she finds that she cannot speak.

Hal takes Maggie's left hand and squeezes it ever so gently. Her eyes fall down to her hand; the hand that she cannot lift without feeling such severe pain.

"Maggie?" Hal says, softly.

When he receives no response, no answer from Maggie, he repeats, "Maggie?"

"Can you hear me?" he asks her.

He calls out to Doctor Glass, who had only just left the room, and in seconds she too is by Maggie's side. She looks down upon her with a deeply concerned look on her face.

"Maggie, can you hear me?" Anne asks, softly.

Maggie attempts to cough, to clear he throat, but finds that it does little.

"I can-" she begins but stops, so that she may cough again. "I can hear you." she says, finally.

Anne, who continues to look down upon her with a greatly worried expression, asks, "How are you feeling?"

"I can't..." Maggie begins but pauses. "I can't feel..." she trails off.

"What?" Hal asks; the panic rises in his voice as he continues. "You can't feel what?" he asks.

The pain in Maggie's voice is both frighteningly and painfully clear. "The left side of my body - I can't move..." she says; she falls silent however as she closes her eyes yet again.

Oh, how she longs to give into the darkness and allow sleep to take her once and for all.

"Maggie, Maggie, stay away, ok?" Anne says; despite that she is greatly worried for Maggie she continues to remain calm for both Maggie and Hal's sake.

"What's happening to her, Anne?" Hal asks.

His question falls on silent ears, however, as Anne doesn't answer him.

Maggie eyes remain tightly closed as he breathes out slowly. Hal lets go of Maggie's hand and takes a step back, away from her, so that Anne may properly tend to Maggie.

"Maggie, I have to remove the bandages, okay." Anne begins. "I need to make sure that your burns aren't infected." she tells her; as she speaks she moves towards the bandages on Maggie's neck, first.

She carefully removes them and as she does so she tries her best not to cause Maggie any further pain.

Maggie's hand, which had fallen to the side of her bed, grips tightly onto the edge of the bed as a painful cry passes through her pale, dry lips; to say the pain was bad would be an understatement.

She glances up towards Hal, towards where he stands, so that she may see the truth and so she may know how bad her injuries air. She wants to see his reaction, his expression. The emotions on his face are clear for Maggie to read; there is much sadness on his face mixed with such sympathy.

In his eyes, Maggie can see that it's bad. She isn't in a good way.

Hal smiles, weakly, at Maggie.

"It's going to be ok." he tells her; his voice is hoarse as he speaks and he isn't fooling anyone with his words.

He cannot convince himself that it will be okay and so he cannot convince Maggie of such a thing.

"Hal..." Anne begins. "We need some room." she tells him.

Hal frowns, slightly, as he begins to protest, "Can't I-"

"Please, Hal." Anne adds. "I'll update you as soon as I can." she tells him.

Hal answers, reluctantly, "Ok."

* * *

After Hal steps out of the room, Anne turns towards Maggie and with a soft smile she begins, "You'll be fine, Maggie-"

"Don't lie to me, Anne." Maggie replies, quickly. "How bad is it?" she asks.

Anne hesitates before she states, "I've never treated someone who has survived the mechs ray; they paralyse and kill their victims. The nerves on the left side of your body have been affected so there could be damage."

"Permanent damage?" Maggie asks; her expression and voice are so empty as she speaks.

Anne replies, softly, "Only time will tell."

Time is a funny thing, Maggie thinks, as Anne leaves her alone to her thoughts. After time passes things are supposed to heal, they aren't supposed to hurt anymore. But it is Maggie's past, not her current state, that hurts the most. Even with time, Maggie isn't sure if the wounds that are visible to others, and the wounds on the inside, will ever heal.

* * *

**A/N: All of this chapter is my own original idea, I felt like it was a good addition to FS.  
Also, as I said earlier, Mason family bonding scenes and Hal/Maggie bonding scenes will be coming up! And they will be worth the wait. And more and more action (all new ideas, not on the show) is also coming up in future chapters.  
So, please let me know what you guys think?**

**:)**


	4. Almost killed your light

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Pope enters Maggie's room he is greeted, quickly, but Lourdes.

"Pope, what are you doing in here?" she asks; she watches him with a slightly wary look on her face.

"I've come to visit." he says; as he speaks he indicates to Maggie who he finds is half lying, half sitting, on the bed with her neck supported by pillows.

Lourdes pauses before she begins, "You'll have to come-"

Maggie, loudly, cuts over Lourdes, "He can stay."

Lourdes nods, once, before she tells Maggie, "I'll be across the hall if you need anything."

As Lourdes leaves the room Maggie glances up at Pope and asks, "What are you doing here?"

He crosses his arms and sighs, deeply, before he mutters, "What a great thank you to your savior."

Maggie simply says, "Pope."

"Making sure that you don't die again." he tells her. "You know, they're planning to leave in a week or so, keep going to Charleston. You still interested?" he asks; his expression is that of an incredibly impassive one as he watches her.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Maggie questions.

"Oh, I don't know...I can name a couple reasons..." he begins; he pauses only briefly before he continues, "They left you for dead. All these razorbacks are skitter. Mason is definitely skitter bait. And that boyfriend of yours-"

"Hal is not my boyfriend." Maggie says, quickly.

"Oh, good." Pope states; he sighs loudly as he pretends that he is relived by such news. "Because _that_ would be a little difficult, and not to mention awkward, for him to have to explain to you why he's spending all his time with his razorback girlfriend, instead of you. Especially since they moved in together – I just gave you four good reasons to leave." Pope says; as he speaks he continues to watch Maggie who remains as emotionless as ever.

She closes her eyes, briefly, as the numbing pain in the left side of her body slowly shifts into a burning, searing pain.

She doesn't trust Pope. Maggie doesn't like Pope. Even if she had wanted to leave, with him, she couldn't.

"I'm useless...The left side of my body - the nerves are damaged. I can't lift my leg without feeling such pain - I can't run. I don't even know if I can walk..." she tells him; her voice is low as she says, "I'd only weigh you down."

"You only need one hand to shoot." Pope replies, quickly.

"I can't use my leg, Pope, I can't ride a bike." Maggie says; she stops speaking as Anne enters her room.

Anne steps towards Maggie and with a kind smile she asks, "How are you feeling?"

Maggie pauses before she answers, "Fine."

"Good. Good." Anne replies, still smiling. She turns slightly towards Pope before she asks, "Pope, could I have a word outside?"

Pope frowns at this suggestion but he does not refuse it. Instead, he silently follows Anne outside.

As they step out of the room and close the door, Pope turns towards Anne.

"Can't you give her something for the pain?" he asks; showing Anne that he isn't completely incapable of feeling anything.

Anne sighs, softly, "I already have, Pope."

She pauses before she begins, "I'm not quite sure how to say this..."

Pope frowns, deeply, at this and replies, "Just say it."

"Ok." Anne nods. "There's a de-harnessed boy, downstairs...He had this photograph with him." Anne says; as she speaks she pulls out a crumpled and dirty photograph.

She unfolds it so that Pope may set his eyes down upon it. The photograph is that of a younger Pope, with shorter hair, holding a baby in his arms that is wrapped in a blue blanket.

"His name is Benjamin." Anne states. "He says that you're his father." she adds; as she speaks she continues to watch Pope for some or any kind of reaction but he gives none.

He remains completely and entirely emotionless as he continues to silently stare down at the photograph.

"Is Benjamin your son?" Anne asks, with a much softer tone.

"A razorback is no son of mine." Pope says; his voice is almost that of a growl as he speaks.

He steps away from Anne because he doesn't want to be around her anymore. He wants to end this conversation and pretend that such a thing never occurred. Anne follows Pope, though; she steps towards him and still continues to speak with him.

"Benjamin is a beautiful boy, Pope." Anne begins. "From what I can tell, he didn't have the harness on for a very long time. He's fine." she adds, with a softer voice.

Pope shakes his head, as he replies, "He's not my son."

Anne gently grabs Pope's elbow so that she may stop him from leaving and missing the opportunity to reunite with his son.

Pope snaps, at this movement. He shoves Anne's hand away, somewhat violently, and jerks his arm as far away from her as he can.

"Do not stick your nose in where it is not wanted, nor needed, Doctor Glass." he warns her; his tone is that of an almost threatening one as he speaks.

Tom, who moves towards Anne and steps protectively in front of her, asks, "Everything okay?"

Tom does his best to remain calm in a situation such as this because the thought of Pope laying a hand on Anne is enough to drive him completely mad.

Pope does not respond to Tom; instead, he glances briefly between the two of them before he turns away, while muttering something to himself, and walks as far outside as he can so that he may be alone in the fresh, cold air.

Tom, who turns towards Anne, asks, softly, "What was that about? You okay?"

She sighs, "I'm okay. It's - Pope has a son."

"Here?" Tom questions.

Anne nods, once. "He was one of the de-harnessed kids that the scout found. His name is Benjamin and he's the only survivor from the group. Pope wants nothing to do with him. I just - I was trying...Benjamin needs all of the support that he can get. We all do." she says; as she speaks her voice becomes softer.

Tom gently takes Anne's hands and holds them; he squeezes them, reassuringly, before he says, "You really need to rest. You're running on empty."

"I can't - there's too much-" Anne begins.

"One hour." Tom suggests. "I'm sure that Lourdes can watch over everyone for an hour. I can help. Hal's free and I'm sure he wouldn't mind checking in on Maggie." he adds.

Anne releases a small sigh as she looks up to meet Tom's gaze. She finds that he is still watching her with a great amount of concern as he always does.

"Come on." he whispers, softly.

Anne, reluctantly, follows Tom towards his bed and as they arrive before it he stops and presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'll wake you in one hour, I promise." he whispers, softly, before leaving her to a well deserved rest.

* * *

As Hal steps inside the hospital room that Maggie is recovering in he finds her resting with her eyes closed. He finds that her face, which is still the worrying pale as earlier, is covered with a few beads of sweat.

"Hey." he says, softly.

She opens her eyes upon hearing his words and glances up to Hal to find that he is smiling down at her. She pulls herself up into a seated position and lets out a small sigh.

"I was worried about you, Maggie." he admits; as he speaks he takes another, smaller, step towards her bedside.

"Don't be." Maggie answers, quickly.

She shifts her gaze from Hal's eyes to her own hands. She remains silent for a moment before she asks, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Hal replies. "How are you?" he asks; as he speaks he is careful to not lift his gaze from her.

Finally, she looks up from her hands to meet Hal's hazel gaze and as she does she speaks.

"How are you settling in with Karen?" she asks, ignoring his question completely.

Maggie can't help herself from asking such a thing. She's curious and worried. She can't stop herself from going that one step too far.

Hal lets out a small sigh as a frown begins to appear on his face. "Who, uh...Who told you-"

"Pope." Maggie answers, cutting him off.

Hal drops his gaze down to his own shoes which have apparently become the most interesting thing in the room. "Of course he did..." he mutters.

Hal's next words come out messy and in a jumble.

"I, uh, Ma-I" he begins.

"Hal, don't." she tells him. She continues with a lower tone, "It's fine, really, it is. I get it, your girlfriend is back-"

Maggie falls silent, however, as the door to her room is opened by Anne who smiles at Hal and Maggie as she catches sight of the two of them.

"I thought you were supposed to be sleeping?" Hal asks, with a small smile.

Anne returns the smile as she replies, "I'll sleep tonight, just don't tell your father."

As she takes a step towards Maggie's bedside she says, softly, "Maggie, I'm going to check you out and then we'll clean you up and get you up and moving."

Anne continues to wear the same reassuring smile that she always seems to have on, despite the hardships and troubles which they face.

Anne glances back at Hal as she begins, "You don't have to stay for this part-"

Maggie stops her, however, before she can finish speaking. "He can stay." she says, simply.

"Okay." Anne answers. "Well, since you're staying, Hal, can you help?" she asks; as she speaks she walks towards a nearby shelf.

"Sure." Hal replies. "What can I do?" he asks, somewhat nervously as he isn't quite sure what he may do to help.

"I'm going to take off your bandages, Maggie." Anne tells her. "Then, Hal is going to smooth some of this ointment over the burns. It will help them to heal. This will hurt so if you need a break at anytime, say so and we'll stop, okay?" Anne continues; she smiles kindly at Maggie as she finishes speaking.

Maggie nods once as she answers, "Let's get it over with."

After moving so that she is sitting on the edge of the bed, with her feet dangling off the side, Maggie sits still as Anne gently removes her right arm from her brown singlet before she slowly, and carefully, pulls it off of her body.

Maggie, who has just now become extremely self-conscious at the idea of sitting half naked in front of Hal, tries her best to avoid his eye contact as Anne begins to gently remove Maggie's bloodied pants from her legs. Her stomach is covered with thick bandages and after quickly checking them Anne is pleased as they don't appear to be infected and should heal over time.

"Where- where do you want me to start?" Hal asks; as he speaks he is careful to keep his eyes on Anne.

He watches as she removes the bandage from Maggie's left cheek, first, then she slowly removes the bandage from the left side of her neck. Maggie's eyes remained tightly closed until the bandages from her face and neck are gone.

Anne uses a cloth to scoop out a small amount of ointment and as she does this she passes the container to Hal.

"Start with her neck, gently. Like this." she instructs Hal.

Anne gently and carefully smooths the ointment into Maggie's neck; she tends to a small part of her neck first and then leaves the rest to Hal as she begins to tend to her other bandages.

As Hal begins to smooth the ointment in and over Maggie's neck he is careful to only focus on the wound that he is tending to. Maggie glances down at the burns from the corner of her eyes.

She can't see much but what she can see is a mixture of puffy, raw, red blisters and the beginnings of deep, dark, everlasting scars.

Anne says, loudly, "Talk to us, Maggie. Open your eyes and stay awake."

Maggie hadn't realized that her eyes were closed to begin with. It was a habit of hers which she often did in situations she did not feel completely comfortable in.

Hal moves towards Maggie's cheek; he slowly and gently proceeds to smooth some ointment over her cheek. He notices that as he does this Maggie's eyes remain closed tightly.

He moves on to her left shoulder and arm and when he has finished there Anne will quickly cover her burns in dry, non-stick bandages.

Hal's eyes flicker over Maggie's many tattoos; most of which he wasn't aware that she had. He lowers his eyes down towards the bandages that cover her stomach, where the skitters got her. While he has looked once or twice at her wounds he tries his best to avoid looking at her as he doesn't wish to make it more uncomfortable for her.

As Maggie's eyes finally open she asks, "Talk about what?"

Anne sighs before she suggests, "Friends, family, school? Memories."

"Friends?" she asks, smiling slightly to herself.

Maggie glances down at Hal who she finds is smoothing cream into her right shoulder and then to Anne who is pulling some clean bandages out from the cupboards.

"My brother..." Maggie begins, softly. "We used to swim in this water hole...Whenever we stayed at our grandfather's house. The memory is fuzzy... It was over ten years ago. But, I still remember the hot sun against my back and the coolness of the icy water that swallowed you up when you went underneath it..." she pauses for a moment before she continues to relive this memory. "The rope we used to swing off...All the cuts and bruises we'd get from the rocks. Our fingers all wrinkly because we'd spent the entire day int he water." she says; her voice is softer as she speaks but she stops abruptly and allows her voice to trail off.

She breathes in sharply, something that Hal, who is kneeling beside her, notices. He notices this instantly because he notices everything about her.

"I remember when Ben and Matt learnt to swim." Hal says. "You couldn't get either of them out of the water, especially Matt. If he could've grown gills, I think he would have." Hal adds; he says this in an attempt to coax a smile out of Maggie and he does just that.

After he finishes smoothing the cream on her left arm Hal stands up, and announces, "All done with her arm, Anne."

"Good job, Hal." Anne comments before she begins to bandage Maggie's lower arm.

"What about you, Hal?" Anne asks. "Were you a water boy, like your brothers?" she asks, with a smile on her face.

"No, definitely not." Maggie answers, quickly. "Hal was a lacrosse playing, land boy." she adds, with a genuine smile.

Hal grins at this and pauses before he teases, "Oh, yeah, well, Maggie was a pot smoking water girl."

"Medicinal purposes, Anne." Maggie adds, with a small laugh.

"Good to know." Anne answers, smiling back.

She is happy to see even a little spark return to Maggie.

"This will have to happen regularly, Maggie." Anne informs her. "Infection is the worst thing that could happen at this stage.. It could still happen - so you'll need regular checks and changes." she adds; as she speaks she finishes bandaging Maggie's wrist.

Anne kneels down beside Maggie's leg and begins to remove the larger, thicker bandages from her ankle first and then she will proceed to move up to her thigh. Maggie's thigh seems to have caught the worst damage, overall, perhaps because it is the fleshier part of the leg. As Anne removes the bandages from Maggie's thigh the pain hits her almost unexpectedly; it's not as though she didn't expect any pain but she didn't expect it to feel like this. It feels as though her leg has been set on fire, again.

As the pain almost overwhelms Maggie she closes her eyes. "Can we - can we just stop for a moment, Anne." she says; she doesn't ask Anne to stop but rather tells her that they need to stop for a moment.

"Sure." Anne replies, quickly. "What do you need? Water?" she asks.

"Some medicinal pot would be really great right now." Maggie admits; despite the painful situation she still manages a small smile.

"Sorry..." Hal begins; he pretends to check his pockets before he continues. "I don't have that on me." he adds, with a smile.

"Hal, why don't you get a glass of water?" Anne suggests. "I'll get you something for the pain." Anne tells her.

In less than a minute, Maggie has swallowed the water and pills which have done little to ease her pain and Hal is already kneeling beside her ankle smoothing ointment gentle over her burns. He starts with her ankle and slowly works his way up. He takes his time so that he may give her some time to prepare herself for the certain pain that will accompany him smoothing the ointment over her thigh.

"So..." Anne begins. "Memories of school, Maggie? Apart from smoking medicinal pots." she asks.

"Not many." she answers. "Not many good ones, anyway." she adds, with a much lower tone.

"Come on. There's got to be one." Anne pushes her.

Maggie pauses before she softly says, "There were, surprisingly, a lot of flowers underneath the bleachers. I'm not good with names – I used to sit there and try and count them all. Some days, I'd draw them, paint them. My favourite was this purple flower, lilac maybe…"

She trails off, however, because as she closes her eyes she can almost see the flowers, she can almost feel them underneath her finger tips.

"That sounds nice." Anne says, smiling softly.

As Maggie reopens her eyes, Anne asks, "Did you spend a lot of time under the bleachers with your friends?"

Hal remains oddly quiet during their conversation; his eyes stay focused on the burn that he is covering with ointment, over Maggie's knee. Inside, he is fighting the emotions that threaten to explode at the realization of how bad the burns are and how much physical pain Maggie must be in at this very moment.

Before Maggie has the chance to answer Anne, the door opens and Tom enters the room.

As he catches sight of Maggie on the bed, and Anne and Hal kneeling beside her legs, he says, "Oh, I'm sorry."

He half turns away as though he isn't sure whether he should be in the room now or not.

"It's fine, Tom. We're almost done." Anne says, as she stands from the ground.

Lourdes, who had been walking past, takes a step inside the doorway. "Anne, can I speak with you?" she calls out.

Upon catching sight of Maggie, Lourdes turns away in the direction that Tom is looking out at.

"Why don't we just invite the whole Second Mass to pass through?" Maggie mutters to herself; as she speaks she glances down to Hal.

He seems as though he finds this situation amusing and this is obvious by the grin on his face.

"Sure." Anne replies. "I'll be one moment, Maggie." Anne adds; with those words spoken, she steps outside with Lourdes.

"You think this is funny?" Maggie asks, Hal, who continues to smile.

"A little." he admits.

"How are you - how are you feeling, Maggie?" Tom asks; as he speaks he continues to not look directly at Maggie.

"How about..." Maggie begins. "I pull on a shirt to make this a little less awkward, huh?" she suggests.

As she finishes speaking she reaches towards her shirt but winces as she feels such strong pain throughout her arm.

Hal looks up at Maggie the very second that she winces. Already, he is watching her with such concern and worry.

"I'd help, but uh, my fingers are all sticky and I have to finish. Dad?" Hal says; as he speaks he looks up to Tom.

Tom nods and steps through the door entirely, shutting it behind him. He puts his gun down on a nearby table and picks up the long sleeved, black shirt with white buttons that Anne had gotten for Maggie.

"One arm in." Tom says; as he speaks he gently slides the shirt over Maggie's left arm.

"And, the other." he says; he pulls the right sleeve over her right arm.

"Thanks, Tom." Maggie says, with a small smile. "I can button up." she adds before she begins to slowly button up her shirt.

"When Hal was younger and he'd started dressing by himself, he put his shirts on back the front - I don't know why. It was just a habit of his-" Tom begins; he stops, however, as he is cut off by Hal who is trying to stop him from speaking of such things.

"Dad." Hal says.

But, still, Tom continues,"He'd wear his dressing gowns backwards, his shirts, his undies and socks were normal. But his shirts were always-"

"Dad, that's enough." Hal says, quickly, with a small smile.

A small laugh passes Maggie's lips as she states, "There always was something odd about you, Hal Mason, something backwards."

Hal scoops out some ointment from the container and sets it down onto Maggie's thigh before he begins to smooth it over her thigh and into her skin. The smile on Maggie's face quickly fades away and a pained expression takes its place. A small, almost involuntary, gasp escapes her lips.

Hal looks at Maggie immediately as he asks, "You want me to stop?"

Maggie simply shakes her head once because she knows that they cannot stop. It's something that has to be done.

Tom notices, as he sits beside Maggie, that her hands are shaking visibly and so he rests his hand on top of her right hand and squeezes it gently; a fatherly gesture.

Maggie tries to smile but finds that she cannot as the pain is so incredibly intense.

Hal looks up, briefly, at Maggie before he continues to smooth the last of the ointment onto the top of her thigh. "Almost done." he tells her.

Just as Hal finishes smoothing in the ointment onto Maggie's thigh, Anne returns to the room. Tom stands from the bed and takes a step back as Hal does, allowing Anne to bandage Maggie's legs carefully. Hal washes his hands at the sink as Anne assists Maggie back into her black pants.

"You ready to stand?" Anne asks.

As Hal hears the words he turns around, from the sink, and watches Maggie as she simply replies, "Now or never, right."

Now or never, Maggie thinks. She wants to pick never but in this world never is not an option.

"Here." Hal says; he moves quickly towards the right side of Maggie's body as Anne moves towards her left side.

Maggie take's Hal's arm as he helps her to stand from the bed, so that she is standing on her right leg. She rests all of her weight onto him for a moment as she pauses. She feels such pain throughout her body and she is yet to rest her left leg down onto the ground.

Maggie slowly wraps her fingers around Anne's wrists and slowly sets her left foot down onto the floor. She moves forward with her right foot first and then her left. Her grip tightens significantly on Hal and Anne's arms as the pain worsens with each step.

"Another step, Maggie." Anne tells her, softly. "You can do it." she adds, reassuringly.

Maggie lets out a heavy breath of air as she takes another step forward; she moves with her right foot, then her left, and then takes three more steps before she decides that she cannot go another step further.

"That's all." Maggie says, as she stops moving. "That's all." she repeats.

"Ok." Anne agrees softly. "That's fine, Maggie. You've done a good job today." she tells her.

Anne and Hal help Maggie move back towards her bed where they assist her in lying down. She rests her head back on the pillows and closes her eyes until she hears the door opening, again.

"Margaret..." Weaver begins. "How are you doing?" he asks her; he'd come to see Anne as he was in need of a check up on his leg.

"Okay, Captain." she answers.

She pauses before she asks, "Why didn't anyone come looking for me?"

Finally, she asks the question that has been plaguing her thoughts since she had woken up to find the Pope had saved her life.

"We were sending out riders when Pope returned, with you. We were coming out for you." Weaver tells her; as he speaks he takes a step towards her side. "We wouldn't have left you for dead." he adds.

"Why was I out there alone?" she asks. "Where was Dai?" she adds.

Hal frowns at these words and wonders why she was searching for Dai out in the town.

"What are you talking about, Maggie?" Hal asks.

Tom tells her, "Dai was on morning patrol. He wasn't on the night patrol."

"No, Karen-" Maggie begins but stops completely.

Her voice trails off as the realization that Karen must have set her up sinks into her skin.

"What did Karen do?" Weaver asks her.

He receives no answer to his question.

"Anne..." Maggie begins; she drops her gaze down towards her own hands. "I'm tired." she says.

"Okay, we'll see about moving you tomorrow?" Anne suggests.

Maggie doesn't answer. She doesn't acknowledge that Anne spoken and she doesn't lift her eyes from her hands.

"I, uh...I'll come back later?" Hal asks.

Maggie simply nods once and that is all.

"I hope you're feeling better soon, Maggie." Tom says, before he follows Hal out of the room.

Despite that Maggie wants to sleep now, she won't. She can't. Not when the pain is as fresh as the hauntings in her mind are. The hauntings that flash before her eyes. The hauntings that haunt her regardless of whether it is day or night or if she is asleep or awake. The hauntings that will never truly go away.


	5. Don't leave me alone

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

After a moment of silence sets in the hallway between Tom and Hal, which is strange because Hal is rarely ever quiet, Tom speaks.

"Hal, are you okay?" he asks.

Tom worries so greatly about Hal and how he is dealing with the stress and worry about Karen and Maggie, and his brothers, and he knows that Hal worries about him too even when he shouldn't.

"Yeah- I just..." Hal begins but pauses. He lets out a small sigh as he looks up to Tom, who has always been able to read Hal easily.

"You're worried about Karen and Maggie. You want to be there for both of them..." Tom begins.

"It's just, there is something there with Maggie." Hal says.

"Yeah-I just…" Hal sighs, looking up to Tom, who has always been able to read Hal easily.

"But...?" Tom asks.

"But..." Hal continues. "Part of me has always hoped that Karen would come back and she has, and she's de-harnessed, and she remembers me, Dad." he adds; as he speaks his expression shifts slightly.

"All that you can do is be there for the both of them." Tom says, as he gently grips Hal's shoulder. "They need you."

That's all that Hal wants to do. He wants to be there for the both of them but he isn't sure how to do such a thing because as he moves closer towards Karen he feels himself losing Maggie and he never wishes to lose Maggie but he finds that as he tries to move closer towards Maggie she pulls away from him.

* * *

"Pope..." Tom begins; he speaks as he steps towards Pope who he finds is sitting by himself in the cafeteria. "Can I have a word?" he asks.

"If the Doctor sent you, don't waste your breath, Mason." Pope says, almost warning him not to speak of such things with him.

"She didn't send me, Pope." Tom replies, quickly. He continues with a lower tone, "But, she did talk to me about Benjamin. He's a healthy boy and the harness wasn't on for very long –"

"Save it, Mason." Pope warns him; as he speaks he stands from the table. "Not interested." he adds.

Pope attempts to walk away but comes to a stop as Tom stands in his path, preventing him from moving.

"Bad move, Mason." Pope says; he speaks with such a threatening tone.

"You're not interested in your own son?" Tom asks. "He's scared and alone, and-" he begins but stops as Pope speaks over him.

"And, it's none of your damn business. Or anyone else's." he tells him; it is clear that Pope is running out of patience with Tom Mason and the rest of the Second Mass.

"You have a responsibility as his father to care for him." Tom states. "He needs you. What's wrong with him, Pope? He's still your son. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Tom asks; he steps closer, towards Pope, as he speaks.

"What I don't get is why it means anything to you! You have your perfect little family with your razorback son and you, with your messed up alien tracker mind. Don't stick your nose in where it isn't wanted or needed because it could get broken." Pope says; as he finishes speaking he steps away from Tom.

As Tom reaches out for Pope's shoulder he shoves him off. Everything that Mason is doing is infuriating Pope and so it's only a matter of time before he snaps.

"Pope." Tom calls out; he trails after Pope and walks fast so that he may overtake Pope and stand in front of him so that he may block his path, again. "Just talk to him. He misses you-" Tom begins.

Pope grabs Tom, tightly, by the collar of his shirt and slams him violently into the wall behind him. As Pope speaks he leans in much closer to Tom and he's almost shaking with anger as he says, "Don't you get it, Mason?! How many goddamn times do I have to tell you before you get it through your thick, alien infected skull-"

"You're frightened." Tom states. "You don't want to lose him again." he adds.

"What the hell do you know?!" Pope asks, almost growling.

"When I lost Ben..." Tom begins. Tom continues with a louder tone, "I thought I'd never see him again. I blamed myself. But, then I got him back and I got a second chance. A chance that-"

"I'm nothing like you, Mason." Pope cuts him off. "I never was. I never could be the father that you are. I didn't save my son. I lost him. And I didn't try to get him back. I'm not the father that you are. I can't be. I can't take care of my own - I never tried...It's my fault he's a razor..." Pope stops; as he finishes speaking he releases Tom and takes a step back from him.

Pope stands, silently, staring down at the ground like he's in some sort of daze.

Tom begins to speak but Pope doesn't want to hear it and so he speaks over him.

"Stay out of my business, Mason, and I'll stay away from the Second Mass for good." he says; and with those last words spoken Pope walks away before Tom can stop him.

Tom doesn't go after Pope because he can see how furious he is and knows that he needs time to cool off and calm down.

As Pope moves down the corridors he comes to a stop outside of Maggie's room. He pauses for a moment as he considers whether he will go inside and when he does he finds Maggie is lying on the right side of her body facing the door, her eyes are closed but she isn't sleeping.

"Just thought I'd let you know I'm leaving tonight." Pope tells her.

"Still not interested, Pope." Maggie answers; her eyes remain closed as she speaks.

Pope shrugs and says, "Your choice. But, just a little inside info, Mags, people like us don't belong here. You'll realise that soon enough and so will everyone else."

* * *

After an hour of a haunting sleep that Maggie had somehow fallen into, Maggie wakes to find Lourdes tending to something in the corner of the room.

"Has Hal stopped by?" she asks, Lourdes, as she remains resting on her side.

"He's been with Karen." Lourdes replies. "It's so good to have her back. Hal looks happy again, just like he used to." she adds, with a smile.

As Lourdes move towards the door, Maggie calls out, "Lourdes?"

She pauses and turns towards Maggie.

"I don't know if Anne told you but I'm moving back to my old room, tonight. She's given me the all clear but she hasn't brought by the cane." Maggie says; she trails off at the end as she waits for Lourdes response.

She smiles kindly at her before she says, "I'll get you one."

When Lourdes returns with the cane Maggie tells her that she needs a half hours rest before she changes rooms. After Lourdes leaves, to visit other patients, Maggie waits a few minutes to make sure she isn't coming back before she pulls herself to the side of the bed. After dangling her feet off the edge of the bed for a minute she uses the cane to stand.

It doesn't hurt as much as she'd feared that it would but it still causes her great pain. She walks slowly, and painfully, over to the closest cabinet where she pulls out a bottle of pills, a roll of bandages and one small container of ointment. She wraps them up into a blanket and carries it in her right hand. She then unchains Hal's saint Jude necklace and places it down onto her bed.

Maggie doesn't know where it is she truly belongs but she doesn't believe it to be here, not anymore. She knows that Pope does have a point. She isn't like the people in the Second Mass at all.

They're all pure hearted and good people with honest souls. And she knows that she shouldn't care this much about such things but Hal chose Karen. She knows Hal cared greatly for Karen before she was taken and she knows that she shouldn't care at all. She should never have let her feelings get the better of her.

It's no surprise to Maggie that Hal chose Karen. Maggie is scarred, inside and out, permanently damaged and covered in burns that will scar badly. Karen is the opposite. She's fine, unbroken, and perfect in his eyes.

The realization of how truly alone she is hits her and she knows she has to leave, tonight, with Pope; he can drive her where she needs to go, far away, and when she gets there he can leave her alone.

Maggie doesn't trust Pope. She doesn't consider him a friend and he's barely an ally. He's not entirely sane. He's a sarcastic, self-absorbed, crazy, attention seeking ass. But, he cares. A small part of him, deep, deep down underneath the bullshit and darkness cares. He's a good fighter and most of the time they're fighting the same enemy.

Once Maggie gets into her room she packs her bag with some clothes and few belongings. She writes a quick note, to Weaver, and shoves it in her pocket.

Maggie walks as fast as she can down the darkened halls of the hospital with her bag hanging over her right shoulder and the cane in her left hand. She pulls the hood of the jumper she'd put on over her face.

She finds Pope outside of the hospital resting against her bike.

"You're not leaving with my bike." she tells him.

Pope looks up to Maggie and for once he remains silent. He casts a quick look over her weakened, pale, tired and sick state and wonders if attempting to convince her to leave the Second Mass was really such a good idea.

"Do your offer still stand?" she asks.

Pope stands from where he had previously rested against the bike and asks, "You got everything you need for those cuts and burns?"

He begins to strap his bag, filled with some water, a handful guns, two cans of food and various other supplies, onto the back of her bike.

"Yep." Maggie replies.

"Once we're out...No turning back." Pope tells her.

"I don't want to turn back." Maggie tells him; she pauses and glances down at her combat boots. "I just...Need a lift until my leg get betters. Then, I'm taking my bike and I'm gone." she says. "This doesn't mean that I trust you or that we're friends because I don't and we're not friends. I'll never trust you. It means you're my last resort. That's all." she adds; as she finishes speaking she looks up from her boots to find Pope watching her still.

"That is..." he begins. "By far, the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me." he says, with a smirk. "Hop on." he adds, as he gestures towards the bike.

As Maggie steps towards the bike Pope takes her bag from her and straps it down on top of his own bag.

Maggie, who had taken another step towards the bike, stops as she notices Matt is standing a few feet away beside one of the trucks. She steps towards him and with a small smile she extends the letter to him.

"Can you pass this on to the Captain, Matt?" she asks him.

He nods, once, and takes the the letter from her. "Ok." he answers.

"Thanks, Matt. Take care of your family." she says, with a small smile on her face.

Pope allows Maggie to get onto the bike first and he assist her when he can. Then, he slides down onto the bike in front of her and starts it up. Maggie, who holds her can in her left hand, holds onto the side of Pope's waist with her right hand.

"No turning back?" he asks, once more.

"No turning back." she answers.

And as those three words pass Maggie's lips, the two drive away from the Second Mass with no intention of looking back. Despite how painful it may be to leave someone you care about behind you cannot look back because you're leaving for them because it's better for them.

* * *

Weaver, who had been speaking to Tom, Hal, Dai and Ben about his plans for tomorrow and how they would commence packing in the morning, glances up to see Anne and Lourdes who had just entered his room.

All in the room turn back to glance at them as they enter.

"Doctor Glass," Weaver begins; he sets down the charts he'd been looking at down onto the table and looks back up to Anne and Lourdes. "Is everything okay?"

"We're sorry to interrupt your meeting, Captain, but - Have any of you seen Maggie in the last hour?" Anne asks; she turns towards Hal first as she speaks hoping that he may know where Maggie is.

But he doesn't know where Maggie is and knowing that they do not know where Maggie panics Hal.

"What- You can't find her?" he asks; he steps towards Anne as he speaks.

"Maggie's gone and some of our medical supplies have gone missing." Lourdes answers, with a softer tone.

"What kind of supplies are missing?" Weaver questions.

Anne, who pauses as she lets out a small sigh, glances from Tom to Weaver before she says, "A bottle of Vicodin. A small container of ointment and a small roll of bandages. Not enough for her wounds."

Anne pauses before she continues, with a sadder tone, "If Maggie has gone from the camp she's not only in danger from the mechs and skitters, but from herself. She's risking infection in her arm, leg and stomach. If her wounds aren't properly cleaned and cared for she could lose a limb. Worst case; she could die. She can't walk very long by herself. She can't survive for very long alone, out there."

Weaver, quickly, gives the order for each of them to thoroughly check different levels and sections of the hospital and if they do not find her outside they are to search for her outside.

Matt, who had been looking for Captain Weaver inside, runs up towards Tom who he finds standing outside in the hallway.

"Dad." Matt calls out. "I have something - I have something for the Captain." he adds; as he speaks he stops walking so that he is standing before Tom.

In his right hand he holds out a small piece of paper folder in half.

"From Maggie." Matt adds.

"Wait - you know where Maggie is?" Tom asks; as he speaks a deep frown forms on his face.

"Yeah." Matt nods. "I saw her an hour ago. I was going to give Captain Weaver the letter sooner but you guys seemed busy."

Weaver, Anne and Hal, who had caught the end of Matt's sentence about seeing Maggie an hour ago, take a step towards him as he continues.

"She had a bag, and a cane, and she left."Matt says.

Tom passes Weaver the letter and waits silently as he skims the writing on it.

"Pope's gone." Ben, who had checked outside, tells then as he joins the conversation.

"Oh yeah...Maggie left with Pope." Matt adds.

"Pope?" Hal asks.

Matt nods once in response. "Yep." he adds.

"No, Captain..." Hal begins. He turns towards Weaver as he continues, "She wouldn't have left with him."

"Hal..." Tom begins, with a softer voice.

"No, Dad." Hal says, quickly cutting his father off. "She wouldn't have left with Pope. I know her, I know that." he insists; as he speaks he shakes his head several times.

Hal thinks that they're wasting there time here when they should be out there looking for Maggie because she could be injured or hurt or in danger. He won't lose her again, he can't.

"Pope visited Maggie a few times. I don't think he forced her to go, Hal." Lourdes, who had been standing to the side adds.

"Captain..." Weaver says; he begins to read Maggie's letter out-loud so that all may hear. He continues, with a louder voice, "Thank you for your hospitality and kindness. I want to thank you for accepting me. It's time for me to move on. Good luck in Charleston."

Hal shakes his head, several times, in disbelief. "I'm going after her." he announces as he steps past Tom and Weaver.

"Hal..." Tom begins; as he follows Hal he says, "If Maggie wants to leave chasing after her isn't going to accomplish anything.

"I just - I don't understand, Dad. I don't understand why she would leave with him after everything he put her through. I don't understand." Hal admits; as he finishes speaking he tightly clenches his jaw together.

Tom nods, once, before he says, "I know, Hal. And, if Maggie wants to come back she will, eventually."

"We're moving forward. We'll be gone in a few days." Hal replies, quickly. With those last words spoken, he lets out a small sigh and steps away from Tom.

Hal's feet lead him to Maggie's room; he stares at her empty bed for quite some time and as he does he can almost see her sleeping in it. He takes a seat on the floor next to her bed and rests his head in his hands. Out of the corner of his eye he notices something underneath her bed. A picture resting on the ground. He reaches underneath the bed and pulls it out. He turns it over to find that the photograph is of a slightly younger Maggie; he guesses that she is sixteen because she's in a hospital gown with no hair whatsoever. Her cheekbones are hollow and thin, her eyes are dull and lifeless and her face is empty.

Still, there is a smile on her face as she rests on the bed beside a younger boy, also with no hair, who has his arms wrapped tightly around Maggie just as she has hers wrapped around him.

They have the same colour eyes but the only difference is her eyes are dull while his sparkle with light and life.

Much later that night, Hal wanders towards Maggie's hospital bed perhaps with the hope that she may be found in here and that she never left at all. But she did leave. He is painfully reminded of that as he comes to view her empty bed. He freezes as his eyes set down onto the Saint Jude Pendant set out on her med, shining underneath the light of the moonlight. He slowly picks up the pendant and runs his fingers over it.

Hal pauses before he puts the pendant into his pocket along with the folded up picture.

She'll come back to him. She has to.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has read/reviewed/favourited or followed my story.. It means a lot knowing that you guys enjoy it. Hope you like this chapter & I'll be adding another chapter hopefully tomorrow.**

**:) Enjoy.**


	6. Everything is dead

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

**Two weeks later.**

"Maggie." Pope calls out, loudly, to Maggie for the fifth time.

She had not responded or acknowledge Pope's calls. Instead, she had continued to stand still gazing out towards a distant memory which she could almost grasp.

There is more annoyance and anger in Pope's voice as he calls out to her once more before finally he jerks her down by her arm, pulling her down to the ground so that she is kneeling beside him.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asks; his tone is that of such an angered on as she could have gotten herself killed.

Maggie doesn't answer Pope. Instead, he follows her gaze towards the skitters he'd assumed she was looking at. But now he sees, through the window of the shattered car which they are hiding behind, that it is not simply a group of skitters but rather a group of skitters marching a group of harnessed children. One mech trails behind them.

"Stay down." Pope orders.

Maggie ignores Pope, again, though because in this moment she cannot see or hear him. All that she can see are the harnessed children and the boy that she thinks is Robbie; her dear Robbie.

"Robbie…" Maggie whispers.

"Sure it is." Pope answers, disbelievingly.

She's delusional, he thinks, she probably has an infection. Robbie's dead. Maggie grabbed the wrong ointment and the pills that she'd taken only stop the pain they don't stop infection. So, in the weeks that had passed Pope had been left with a physical weak and pained Maggie who was not thinking straight in the slightest way.

Maggie stands, ignoring Pope's calls, and pauses before she breaks out into a run leaving her cane behind with the rubble. She moves towards the boy that she believes is Robbie. She believes that she has found him.

Maggie has one gun on her but apart from that she has no other protection. One tiny, weak, limping human against three skitters and a mech.

"Robbie!" Maggie screams out, loudly.

Whatever attention Maggie hadn't attracted to herself earlier she draws upon herself now.

"Maggie!" Pope calls out, loudly. He's trying to call out to her to get her to come back to him so they can get out of here.

As she hears Pope calling out her name she tries to run faster but she cannot. She won't let him or anyone else stop her from reaching Robbie.

"Robbie!" she calls out, louder; she sounds so desperate as she calls out to him.

As she continues moving towards the illusion of Robbie, Maggie seems to be completely oblivious to the Skitters which are approaching her.

Pope, loudly, yells out, "Maggie!"

He hesitates as he loads his weapon. Then, he yells out, "Damn it, Maggie!"

Pope breaks out into a run now; he runs as fast as he can towards Maggie.

As Maggie reaches forward, with shaking hands, for the the boy in the line Pope is almost certain that she's about to be fried by the mech. She grabs the boys hand but as she does she knows that it isn't Robbie. His eyes are different. They aren't his eyes.

She steps back, confused, away from the group of de-harnessed children and turns back to look at Pope who she finds is running towards her with a gun in each of his hands.

The skitters jump at her, hissing, clawing with their pincers. Maggie pulls out her gun and fires at the closest skitter twice. It falls down presumably dead. She pulls herself off the ground only to be pushed down by a skitter and just as it's ready to kill her, to tear her apart, Pope shoots its head off.

The last thing Maggie sees before her world disappears and the darkness swallows her is Hal.

* * *

Maggie wakes slowly, and painfully, to darkness. She finds Pope, through the darkness, and sees the moonlight is dancing in his eyes.

They're high up in a hole that was blown underneath a bride. They're surrounded by trees, shrubbery, debris and rocks here and for now they are safe but no one is ever truly safe for long.

"Don't try to move." Pope says; his throat is dry and his voice cracks as he speaks.

For once, Maggie listens to Pope and so she doesn't try to move.

The pain that Maggie feels throughout her body is so overwhelming that she almost welcomes the idea of unconsciousness so that she wouldn't have to feel anything.

Pope closes his eyes for what feels like hours but in reality has only been a few minutes. The pain consumes Pope just as it does Maggie. The skitters him them bad. They've lost a lot of blood, too much blood. They're almost out of ammo. They've lost Maggie's bike. And, they have no food left.

When Pope opens his eyes again he pauses before he stretches out his left arm, his less damaged arm, and reaches for a bottle of scotch resting in the nearest bag. He'd swiped it from a store a couple of months ago. He pulls out Maggie's pill bottle, which is half full, and empties half of the remaining pills into his hand. He opens the scotch and drops all of the pills, from his hand, into his mouth. Then, he takes a large, long mouthful of scotch.

"Maggie..." Pope calls out, weakly.

She slowly opens her eyes to find Pope holding out the pill bottle towards her. She tries to lift her hand but finds that she cannot lift it very high as the pain is too bad and she's far too weak.

"Here..." he mutters.

Pope groans as he drags himself closer towards Maggie. He props her head up with his left hand and drops the pills into her mouth with his right hand. Slowly, he places the bottle to her lips and helps her to take a sip.

"What's the occasion?" she asks, when he pulls the bottle away from her lips.

She takes another, larger sip from the bottle as Pope answers.

"I figured...Since we're going to die we might as well have one last drink." he answers.

"That bad?" she asks.

She closes her eyes again, for a moment, as she tries to find some or any place of peace in her memory. She knows that they're both badly injured. She can feel herself drifting off and this time she's not sure whether she is drifting off into sleep or into something else entirely.

Pope finishes off what remains of the bottle and throws it to the side. He lies back down so that he is resting on his back and then lowers his head down onto the cold concrete.

"We're screwed." he says, honestly, because he does believe that they are.

Pope doesn't hear Maggie's answer; he's not sure she gave one but he's too weak to ask if she did, too weak to speak and too weak to keep his eyes open any longer.

* * *

As Hal, Ben, Dai and Tom ride forward on the scout into the town, Hal's thoughts are filled with Maggie as they have been for quite some time.

Nineteen days have passed them since Maggie left and since then there has been no sign of Maggie or Pope. Hal has to push his thoughts of Maggie out of his mind because thoughts are a distraction that no one can afford right now. He has to stay completely and entirely focused on keeping everyone alive and safe.

The town is burnt out, bombed and abandoned. Blown up bodies of skitters and mechs are spread out through the town. The skitters look like they've been dead for a while. After they check the empty streets, and alleyways, they find that the town is completely empty of any civilians, fighters or aliens and so continue through the rest of the town.

As Ben hears a voice in the distance, he stops walking. It sounds as though the voice is screaming out for help.

Tom turns towards Ben and looks at him as though he possibly heard a fragment of the voice, "Did you hear something?" Tom asks.

Ben nods once in response as he listens so that they may hear the voice again.

"It could be a trap." Tom tells him.

Ben shakes his head as he answers, "I don't think so."

As he finishes speaking, Ben gets onto his bike and drives towards the direction that he heard the voices coming from. The truck that Tom, Dai and Hal are riding in follows after Ben's bike. The voice becomes louder to Ben as they move closer and soon enough the others can hear fragments of it too.

"...BLOW YOUR FREAKIN' HEADS OFF!" the voice screams out.

It is a voice that they all recognise immediately.

"Pope." Ben says; he says the name that they were all thinking.

Ben quickly pulls his bike to a stop and gets off it. All in the truck slowly get out of the truck. They have their weapons ready in their hands because it is still a possibility that it could be a trap.

"Pope?" Tom calls out.

As he speaks, Tom follows a trail of dried blood towards a bridge. He stops, hesitating, because he can't see anyone and he cannot see where it is the voice is coming from.

"Mason?" Pope yells back.

"Up here." Ben announces, as he stands by his father's side. He indicates towards the hole underneath the bridge. "I'll get him." Ben adds; he walks quickly up the steep slope that leads towards the top of the bridge and steps out through the debris and shrubbery.

Only seconds later, Ben returns with a blood soaked, pale Pope. Ben has one of Pope's arms over his shoulder and is helping him walk because it doesn't look as though he can stand by himself.

If Tom was ever going to feel anything remotely close to sympathy for Pope, it would be now in this moment. Pope's face is covered with dried blood and dirt. A large gash that runs across his neck looks infected as do the two deep cuts running down his right arm. He can't stand by himself, he's too weak, and he can barely stay conscious.

"You're late..." Pope begins. "Who thought I'd be glad to see you Mason…I mean…really, never." he mutters.

After casting a quick look over Pope, Hal asks, "Is Maggie with you?"

Pope shakes his head slowly, before he answers, "She's dead."

Pope had tried to reach out to Maggie, to wake her, but she'd never woken up after the first night. He'd dragged himself over to her,and tried to find a pulse but he'd passed out from the blood loss and exhaustion.

Ben assists Pope into the back of the truck, quickly.

Hal does not hesitate to run up the slope, retracing his brother's earlier footsteps; he stumbles over his feet once but keeps going. As he steps through the trees, shrubbery and debris he finds her.

He finds Maggie lying on the ground with her face in the dirt. Her body is limp and stained with so much blood.

"Maggie." Hal calls out; he moves towards her side as he speaks and slowly rolls over her body.

Her face, which is covered with dry blood and dirt, is so very pale. A large gash runs down her right cheek and another gash runs across her neck. Blood, from her older wounds, has seeped through her clothes. She's much skinnier now, too skinny, and her cheeks are much more hollow than Hal remembers them being. Her eyes are closed, her face is lifeless, and she doesn't seem to be breathing.

"No, no, no. Maggie." Hal begins; he sounds so incredibly fearful and desperate as he taps her cheeks.

When he receives no response he continues, "Maggie, Maggie come on."

He shakes her body now, hoping to wake her from this sleep that she is in because she has to be sleeping. She has to be alive still. He can't lose her.

His fingers, which are shaking slightly, search for a pulse on her bloodied neck. He finds one but it's so incredibly weak and slow.

"She has a pulse." Hal calls back, to Tom and Ben who had joined him moments earlier.

It frightens Tom how weak, and frightened, Hal sounds as he speaks.

"We have to get her back, now." Hal says.

He gently, and so carefully, picks Maggie up off the ground and carries her down towards his truck. Tom helps Hal to lift Maggie into the back of the truck and then joins Hal in the back of the truck with an unconscious Pope and Maggie.

Dai, in the driver's seat of the truck, drives back to base as quickly as he can with Ben leading the way on his bike.

They return to the empty fire station, which is empty because none of the trucks ever made it back, which the Second Mass is occupying for a few days until they move on.

Hal carries Maggie inside the base, carefully holding her in his arms, while Ben and Dai take one of Pope's arms each and lift him inside carefully.

Anne directs them towards one of the larger rooms and once inside Hal lays Maggie down onto one of the beds. He takes a slight step back and watches helplessly as Anne begins to determine the extent of Maggie's injuries. Anne asks Hal, several times to leave, but he doesn't respond.

Tom, eventually, manages to get Hal to leave the room while Anne and Lourdes work on Pope and Maggie.

Three hours later; eight stitches between them, five for Maggie and three for Pope, twenty two bandages and a few large doses of pain medication and Maggie and Pope are stable.

They are moved to separate rooms straight away and as soon as Hal is allowed to he pulls a chair up to Maggie's bedside and refuses to leave her side for much more than an hour each day. He cannot leave her, again. He cannot lose her again and he cannot endure the distance that had been between them anymore.

* * *

After three long, drawn out, days of drifting in and out of consciousness and falling in and out of hauntings and memories, Maggie wakes. She wakes to find Hal by her side with his eyes fixed carefully on her as though he is taking in each detail of her so that he will never forget a single thing about her.

"Maggie." Hal whispers, softly; his hazel eyes are mixed with such pain, hope and worry.

To Maggie, this isn't real. It can't be real. It's a dream.

"Hal..." she says, softly.

"Hal," She says, softly, like it's a dream.

Her breathing becomes heavier as the pain hits her and she tries to push the pain down but finds that she cannot and so she attempts to distract herself. Her eyes flicker around the unfamiliar room and when they adjust to her surroundings they find their way back to Hal as they always do.

Maggie tries to move, to sit up, but Hal stands up as she attempts such a movement so that he may prevent her from sitting.

"Woah, easy. Easy, Maggie." he says; he tries to stop her from sitting up but she doesn't listen.

Maggie pulls herself upwards so that she is facing Hal. She gets a slight shock as her feet touch the floor; it's icy cold. It's not an unpleasant feeling to Maggie but rather a surprising one.

"Hal." she says, again. She pauses before she wraps her arms carefully around his chest.

"It's ok." Hal says, softly. as he places his hands around her he whispers, "You're okay, now. You're ok."

"Don't...uh...Don't leave yet, alright?" she asks him.

And this is the only way that Maggie will ever tell him that she doesn't want him to go anywhere. She won't beg him or plead with him to stay but rather just ask him to stay for a little while.

"I won't." he tells her. "I'm not going anywhere." he adds, still holding her.

He's never going to leave her again, he promises himself. He can't leave her again and he certainly can't lose her again.

"You scared me…" Hal admits.

"Hal, I-" Maggie begins but she quickly comes to a stop as she looks up to see Karen standing in the doorway.

Without hesitation, Maggie extracts herself from Hal's arms and leans away from him. Her eyes remain fixed on Karen as she does this. Hal slowly follows Maggie's gaze to see Karen standing silently in the doorway, behind the closed door.

"She shouldn't be out of her room." Hal states; as he speaks he stands from his chair. "I'll be right back." he adds.

But, he doesn't come right back. He doesn't return for several hours and when he does finally return Maggie is already 'sleeping'.

He stays by her side until morning the morning comes and he has his patrol with Ben.

_"I think its crazy you're out here on patrol already." Hal says, to Maggie, as he walks closely behind her. _

_"How many times do I have to remind you how much I hate hospitals?" she asks, not looking at him directly._

_"You're risking pulling your stitches, possible infection, maybe getting shot again...Just to be out here with me. You know what that means? You like me." Hal says; the grin remains on his face as he continues to watch Maggie._

_"Typical guy…Making this all about you." Maggie smirks._

_A silence falls between them for a moment before she admits, "I asked Weaver to move me to another unit."_

_"What?" he asks, with a slight frown. He tries to act casual as he asks, "Whose?"_

_"Goodman." she replies; as she answers she finally looks up to meet Hal's gaze._

_"Goodman? Isn't he like 50?" Hal asks._

_"Hal, I'm…not the right person for you." Maggie tells him, with a softer voice._

_Hal manages a small laugh before he asks, "Don't I get to decide that?"_

_"What is it about 'I don't want to be with you' that you don't understand?" she asks._

_As the words pass Maggie's lips, the smile disappears completely from Hal's face._

_"All of it."_

Maggie's eyes flicker open as the door to her room is pushed open. She glances up to find Weaver who has come to visit Maggie. They make some conversation for a moment or two until Maggie blurts out something similar to an apology.

"I made a mistake-" she begins.

"You don't have to explain yourself. Not to me." he tells her.

"I'm glad to see you alive and back with us." Weaver comments. He pauses before he says, with a small, reassuring smile, "You're part of the Second Mass whether you think so or not. There are people who care about you, people who need you. Remember that."

Maggie doesn't truly believe his words and she cannot pretend that she believes them either.

Weaver begins, "Margaret...did, uh, did Pope..." he pauses, momentarily, before continuing with a lower voice, "Did he hurt you?"

Pope, who had woken up a day before Maggie, had remained handcuffed to his bed as they couldn't be sure if they could trust him yet and they had wanted to make sure that he hadn't hurt Maggie before they had released him.

Maggie shakes her head once before she replies, "No Captain, he didn't."

* * *

Pope, who glances up at Anne who has entered the room to check on his injuries, calls out, "Why am I still chained up?"

As he speaks he gestures towards his right ankle which is still handcuffed to the bed.

"Captain Weaver and Tom will be in shortly. They'd prefer that you stay chained up for the time being, and for their visit." Anne answers; she takes a look at his stitches before she comments, "You seem to be healing very well."

As Anne leaves Pope's room she passes Weaver and Tom in the hallway.

"Beware, he's extremely irritated today." she says, with a small smile.

As Tom and Weaver enter Pope's room, he says, with a smirk, "Who knew you were into this kind of stuff, huh?"

He pauses for a moment before he states, "If you've come to threaten me, to give me a pep talk, don't. Unchain me and I'm gone. Oh, and for the record Captain, this here-" Pope says, indicating to the handcuffs. "Is completely unnecessary. I did not harm Margaret nor did I force her to leave. I gave her a lift, out of here, and I stuck with her when she started having delusions, because of the infection, and I stuck around on those cold nights when she realised she was using the wrong ointment, that burnt the crap out of her legs, I didn't leave – I didn't leave her when she ran up to those skitters – so, if you would be so kind as to remove the handcuff?"

"Doctor Glass wants you stay here until you're healed." Weaver says, as he unlocks Pope's handcuffs.

Their conversation is cut short by Anne, who interrupts the three of them. She looks pale and stressed as she asks to have a moment in the hallway with the Captain and Tom.

"Let me guess..." Tom begins. "Maggie's done another disappearing act?" he asks; he'd known that Anne was on her way to check on Maggie and so he only assumes this.

Anne nods, once.

"Let's organise a small scout. I was only just with her. She won't have been able to leave yet, not in her condition." Weaver tells them.

* * *

"Maggie?" Ben calls out, loudly, as he steps out onto the roof top of the fire station.

He finds Maggie, just like a small part of himself believed that he would, sitting down on the edge of the building.

"Everyone's looking for you downstairs." Ben says, as he steps towards her.

"I'm fine." she answers, weakly; it'd taken most, almost all, of her strength to get up here.

"Feeling claustrophobic in there?" Ben asks; as he speaks he slowly takes a seat down beside Maggie.

"Yeah...You could say that." she answers. "I never really sleep, so there's not really a break." she adds.

Ben pauses before he admits, sadly, "I know what that feels like."

He rarely ever sleeps and on the few occasions that he is lucky enough to allow sleep to take him it is far from a peaceful rest.

"It's nice up here, huh?" Maggie asks. "So peaceful and quiet. It's like...Nothing else exits." she mutters.

"Why'd you leave?" Ben asks, finally; as he speaks he looks down upon Maggie.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." she answers, simply.

Ben says, with a small smile, "I'm not like the others. Try me."

Maggie pauses as she seriously considers confiding in Ben why it was that sh left but she stops and quickly changes her mind as the door to the roof is pushed open with such force. Hal steps out looking so incredibly stressed out and tired.

He frowns slightly upon catching sight of the two of them out on the roof. "What are you doing out here?" he asks, the both of them.

"I'll go tell Doctor Glass that Maggie's fine." Ben says; as he speaks he stands from where he had previously sat and walks quickly past Hal leaving the two of them alone.

"You shouldn't be out here, Maggie." he tells her, simply.

She releases a small sigh before she replies, "Where should I be then, Hal? Tell me where? Because I'm sick of that room."

"You're not exactly in the state to walk around by yourself." he answers. "Next time you need air tell someone, alright?" he asks.

Maggie remains silent because she cannot promise Hal that the next time that she want air she will check with someone else first. When she wants air, when she needs it so desperately because it feels like she is running out with every breath, she will not wait to speak to someone.

"Why don't you come back inside?" Hal suggests. "We can get something to eat?" he offers.

Maggie nods once. "Ok." she answers.

Hal walks towards Maggie as she agrees to come inside and he moves so that he may help her to stand.

"I'm fine." she insists.

But, she takes his help still because she does need it. Hal helps Maggie to walk down the stairs, at a slow pace, and down towards the cafeteria. She walks at a much slower pace than usual and she's much quieter. She remains silent because she's trying to keep all of the pain inside.

When they reach the cafeteria Maggie sits down at one of the smaller tables while Hal leaves to get the two of them a meal. When Maggie glances up, from where she had been staring at a mark on the table, she finds Karen siting across from her.

"Maggie." Karen smiles. "It's good to see you back, and well. That was a terrible thing that happened. I hope you don't hold me responsible. I was simply passing on a message." Karen adds; as she speaks she continues to hold the same innocent appearance.

"I'm sure you were." Maggie replies; she continues to watch Karen with suspicion.

As Hal returns to the table he takes a seat down next to Karen and gives her his plate, telling her that he will eat later.

"I was just telling Maggie how good it is to see her back here." Karen says; as she speaks she turns towards Hal.

Hal looks up from his hands to Maggie and smiles. "Yeah." he says. "It is good." he adds.

Hal can tell that Maggie isn't in the best mood. He can see that she's tired, and feeling such pain, and probably feeling suffocated.

"Hal was very deeply worried about you." Karen states; as she speaks there is almost a humorous ring to her tone that Maggie picks up. "He worries about everyone. He's such a caring person." she adds; as she speaks she lowers her hands down so that they are resting on top of Hal's.

Both Hal's and Maggie's eyes flicker down to Karen's hands, resting on his. He doesn't pull away from her touch but rather looks up to Maggie who he finds looks more uncomfortable than earlier.

"I should be walking back to my room." Karen announces. "Hal, will you walk me?" she asks, sweetly.

Hal nods once and stands from his seat He glances back at Maggie and asks, "Will you be ok?"

Maggie nods once, before she answers. "Always am."

Pope limps slowly into the cafeteria with one crutch under his right arm to help him walk. His body throbs with pain but he doesn't feel it as badly as earlier as he'd managed to get his hand on a couple extra bottles of painkillers. When he sits down at Maggie's table she doesn't object. She doesn't speak. Instead, she slides her untouched plate of food over towards him so that he may eat.

When she finally speaks her voice is low. "Are you planning on leaving?" she asks.

Pope shrugs as he swallows a piece of bread. "Why? Are you interested?" he asks. He adds, with a lower tone, "Because that turned out so well last time."

There's something new between her and Pope. Not friendship, not trust, a bond maybe. Or, maybe it's a mutual respect of each other.

Pope lets out a sigh before he says, "The longer I stick around the crazier that Mason gets. So, I'll be around for a few weeks."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed/given me feedback/favourited/followed. It's good to know that people out there are enjoying my fanfic and I will continue to upload more chapters. I will try to upload the next chapter ASAP. (Promised Mason family bonding is coming)  
Enjoy :)**


	7. All we love is gone

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Maggie, who had been searching for Hal inside of the fire station, steps outside of an exit door and finds Hal on the bottom of the staircase that leads up to the door. She'd been searching for him because she had wanted to see him, to just be around him, and she hadn't want it to be just the two of them like it was not so long ago.

"Hal." she begins, upon catching sight of him. "What are you doing out here?" he asks.

"I, uh...I caught Ben and Karen." Hal says; he begins to pace back and forth as he continues, "They were close, holding each other. And, uh, their spikes were glowing. He hurt her. I think that he's trying to trap her..." Hal trails off.

Maggie shakes her head as she says, simply, "You need to find Ben. He's the one in trouble. Trust me on this, Hal."

After leaving Hal alone, to his thoughts, outside of the fire station Maggie had set off in the direction of the room in which they were holding Karen in. Upon reaching the room she says, to the man guarding the room, "I'll take over."

"Yes, ma'am." he replies before he leaves her, and Karen, alone.

Maggie waits until she and Karen are entirely alone, and she's certain that the man is gone, before she opens the door to Karen's room and steps inside.

"What are you doing?" Karen asks; she looks up immediately to meet Maggie's gaze.

"I'll take over," Maggie tells the man guarding Karen's room. "Yes, ma'am, He leaves her.

Maggie pulls out two of her guns and holds one in each hand. "We're gonna have a little girl talk, you and I." Maggie announces.

"I don't understand." Karen replies, frowning slightly.

"I think you do. I think you understand really well actually. So let's stop playing games, okay?" Maggie suggests.

Karen begins to move but stops as Maggie steps closer with her guns still firm in her hands.

"Look, honestly..." Karen begins but stops as she stands slowly. "This isn't about Hal, is it?

"Yeah, it's about Hal." Maggie replies, quickly. "And Ben and Tom Mason. It's about the entire Second Mass and how you're gonna crawl back to whatever dung heap you came from and leave us all alone." she says; her tone is that of an threatening one as she speaks.

Karen laughs, loudly, at this. "So, it's 'us' now, Maggie?" she asks; she smiles, humorously, at this.

"Innocent little Maggie with a heart of gold." she states. "You know I feel sorry for you...You've spent so long pushing people away you have no idea how to get close to anyone anymore. Now you're doing the same thing with Hal. You don't think you deserve him and you know what? You're right." Karen says; she drops the innocent again as she adds, "You don't."

"You know..." Karen begins; she takes a step towards Maggie as she continues, "I used to think about your time with Pope. Despite all of your stories about how they mistreated you, the truth is I think that you felt more comfortable with them then you have with anyone else in your whole pathetic life."

"You don't know me." Maggie answers, quickly.

"No, I think I do." Karen replies, without hesitation. "You know what? Maybe that life with Pope and his gang...Maybe that's the life that you really deserve." she says, still with a smile.

As Maggie presses down on the trigger, of her guns, she shoots at Karen who jumps over her, missing the bullets, and behind her. Karen snatches the guns from Maggie's hands and picks her up. She holds her up in the air, above her head, before she cruelly slams Maggie into the light hanging on the side of the wall.

The glass shatters and breaks as Maggie is thrown into and she falls down onto the ground, into the glass. The stitches on her stomach were torn open instantly and now the blood pours our of her shirt and onto the ground around and beneath her. Her breathing becomes heavier as she fights to stay awake. As she sees Karen leaning over her it all fades away.

Karen, who hears Ben rushing down the hallway calling down to Karen, throws herself backwards in to the wall so this way Ben will believe her story and not Maggie's.

As Ben enters the room his eyes move from Karen towards Maggie who is surrounded by shattered glass and blood. She is always surrounded by blood.

"She shot at me, Ben." Karen says, through deep sobs. "She hurled me into the wall... I was trying to protect myself. She was so mad, Ben. She was saying all of these horrible things, calling me a razor back…" Karen stops, as she begins to cry.

Ben slowly takes Karen's hands and helps her up off the ground. He understands her pain even if no one else does.

"We're not safe here, Ben." she cries.

Ben, who is about to speak to tell Karen he knows of somewhere they could be safe, stops as Tom and Dai come rushing into the room.

Karen moves towards the bed and sits down, shaking slightly, with her head resting in her hands. Ben stands by her side.

They find Maggie lying alone and injured on the floor. Her stomach and hands are covered with blood that spills down onto the ground around her.

"What happened?" Tom asks.

Dai rushes towards Maggie's side and first checks for a pulse while Tom remains watching Karen carefully.

"She shot at Karen, Karen was defending herself." Ben tells Tom.

"You were here with her?" Tom asks.

Ben nods once before he answers, "Yep. I was in the room the whole time."

* * *

Dai had found Hal, after he had gently carried Maggie towards her room, and told Hal that Maggie had been hurt but that was all he had known. Hal had rushed towards Maggie's room and once he got there he had found his father standing outside the door.

"Dad." Hal calls out, as he moves towards his father. "What happened?"

"Most of her stitches were pulled out, again. She has a slight concussion but she's okay." Tom tells him before he releases a deep sigh of air.

"What?" Hal asks, frowning slightly. "What is it, Dad?" he asks.

"She fired at Karen. Ben was in the room. They had an argument and Ben said that Karen was defending herself." Tom says; he is almost reluctant to tell Hal this because he sees already how Hal is responding to such news and it isn't well.

Hal takes a moment to process Tom's words and once he has he glances up to his father and asks, "Can I go in and see her?"

"Yeah, Hal, just-" Tom begins; he falls silent, however, as Hal steps away from him and moves inside Maggie's room.

Maggie glances up from where she had been gazing down, at her own hands, to find Hal standing int he doorway.

"Hey." she says, managing a small smile.

"What are you-" she begins.

She stops, however, as Hal loudly speaks over her.

"You shot Karen?" he asks.

Hal looks quickly around the room before he finally sets his eyes down on to Maggie. He finds that she is frowning now and her smile is completely gone.

She begins, "Hal, I don't-"

"Why?" he asks. "I don't understand. You told me to trust you but how can I when you just tried to kill Karen?" he is almost yelling at her as he speaks and he cannot contain or hide the anger that rings through his voice.

"That's what she told you?" Maggie asks.

"No." Hal replies, quickly. "Ben was in the room. I thought you understood that Karen was not the enemy?" he asks; he shakes his head slightly before he runs his right hand up his forehead and through his hair.

"I can't believe that she has you so twisted around her little finger." Maggie states.

"No." Hal says, so very loudly."You know what? I can't believe the way you're treating her. She's not the enemy, Maggie, she's one of us and you're treating her like an outcast." he adds.

"Wow." Maggie sighs. "You are such a hypocrite." she tells him.

Hal's frown deepens as he asks, "I'm the hypocrite?"

Maggie nods, once. Her voice is much louder as she says, "Ben is your brother by blood. He's your family. And you're treating him like an outcast, like he's a freak – an enemy and you're first thought was that Ben was trying to trap Karen, to hurt her – he's hurting-"

"Hal." Tom sighs; he steps into the room as he speaks and as he does this he breaks up their argument which could clearly be heard from the hallways.

"She needs to rest. Just lay off-" Tom begins.

"OK." Hal answers, with his hands raised in the air.

He steps past Tom and Maggie without a second glance back because he finds that he cannot look back.

* * *

Over the next week the Second Mass hasn't made much progress to Charleston. Pope had decided to stick around but he hadn't visited Benjamin. There were some subtle changes in Pope; he'd become slightly more respectful of the Captain and even Tom. He even went so far as to tell them that he would listen and follow any of their orders.

In the week that had past, Maggie hadn't spoken a word to Hal. They had passed each other awkwardly at points but they hadn't spoken. Ben had also been avoiding Maggie. She had wanted to speak with him and ask him what the hell was going on but she hadn't had the chance to.

"Maggie?" Tom calls out, as he catches her on her way to patrol.

She walks slowly and still with a limp but she'd convinced both Anne and the Captain that she was well enough to do patrol. She uses the cane every now and then, when her legs have moments of weakness, but she's much stronger than she was when she first returned to the Second Mass.

"Tom." Maggie says; she stops walking so that Tom may catch up with her. "How can I help you?" she asks.

"How are you, Maggie?" he asks her, with a small smile.

"I'm ok." she replies, quickly.

Tom smiles at this and continues smiling as they fall into a momentary silence. As they stay in this silence for a moment longer, he casts a quick but detailed look over Maggie. She still looks weak. The cuts and bruises on her face still look fresh but she looks better than she did a few weeks ago.

"How's Hal?" Maggie asks.

Tom nods once before he replies, "Good. He's good. Weaver would like a word with you."

Maggie nods once before she walks with Tom, mostly in silence but in a comfortable one, towards Weaver's tent. When they step inside they find him leaning over a map spread out on his table.

He glances up at Tom and Maggie before he points to one of the chairs in the room. "Margaret, thanks for coming. Please, take a seat."

"Captain." Maggie says, nodding her head once, as she takes the seat.

"How are you?" Weaver begins.

"I'm ok." Maggie replies. "Look, can we cut to the chase?" she suggests. "This is about Karen, isn't it?" she asks; as she speaks she glances from Tom to Weaver.

Tom nods once but otherwise remains silent as he allows Weaver to explain why it is they've asked her here.

"We've heard Karen's side of the story, and Ben's, and now we want to hear your side." Weaver says; as he speaks he pours three glasses of scotch.

He hands one glass each to Tom and Maggie, who both thank him, before he takes a large sip from his own glass.

"So, Maggie..." Tom begins. "Please tell us what happened." he says; as he speaks he smiles reassuringly at her and notes that she shifts somewhat uncomfortably in her chair.

"I don't remember much." she replies; she's lying because she remembers all of it.

"OK." Tom says; he pauses before he suggests, "Let's start with what you do remember."

"I don't know, Tom...I don't remember much." Maggie answers; she scratches at the side of her head before she pushes a strand of hair behind her left ear.

"I can handle it from here, Tom." Weaver announces. "You go and get some rest." he adds.

Tom, who is somewhat reluctant to leave, nods and agrees to Weaver's suggestion.

Once Tom has left the tent, Weaver walks around to where Maggie is sitting. He sighs and takes a seat on the chair that had been placed in front of her.

"What happened, Margaret?" Weaver asks. "You can tell me the truth. I know that something went on in there." he adds, with a lower tone.

"I, uh, went in to check on Karen. I had my guns for protection, that's all. I was trying to protect the second Mass…" Maggie says; she pauses for a moment before she continues, "I fired at her...I should have controlled myself."

"You had your reasons for what you did." Weaver tells her.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to come between Ben and his family." Maggie says; as she speaks she stands from her chair and places the untouched glass on a nearby table.

"Margaret..." Weaver sighs.

"Maggie." she corrects him, quickly.

"Maggie, I just want to know-" Weaver begins.

"I know. I don't trust Karen and neither should you." she tells him.

Maggie knows that Weaver just wants to help. He only wants to protect his people as he has always wanted to do.

Maggie sighs before she adds, "I am sorry, Captain."

As Maggie steps out of the tent, leaving a slightly puzzled Weaver behind to his thoughts, she almost runs into Hal as he walks in the direction of his own tent.

"Hal." she calls out, to him.

He stops for a moment and turns to cast a quick look over her. "What's up?" he asks; as he speaks he decides upon taking a step towards her.

"I could ask you the same thing." she tells him. "I haven't seen you in a while." she adds.

Maggie watches Hal with such intensity; like how he used to watch her. Now it's different. Now he avoids her eyes at all costs.

Hal sighs as he finally lifts his gaze to look upon Maggie. "What'd you expect?" he asks.

"I didn't expect teenage angst." Maggie answers. "I was trying to protect you and Ben from her. You're so blinded that you can't see her for what she really is." she adds.

"And, what would that be?" Karen asks, who slightly startles Maggie by appearing so unexpectedly.

Hal turns away from Maggie and towards Karen. "Forget it." he says; as he speaks he tries to guide Karen away from Maggie but Karen isn't interested.

"What am I, Maggie?" she asks, holding Maggie's gaze. "I don't understand where you're getting all of these ideas from. I haven't done anything." Karen says, calmly.

"Drop the act. We both know what you and who you really are. So, the sooner we kill the scum that you're linked to, the sooner I can kill you." Maggie says; she whispers these words to Karen just low enough so that she will hear them.

Karen smiles before she pulls back her right hand and violently knocks Maggie, with such force, down onto the ground. The hit is such a strong one that it cuts open Maggie's bottom lip.

When Maggie looks up, quickly, from the ground she looks to Hal but she finds that he isn't looking at her. He's staring at the gun in Karen's hands. The gun that she had stolen from Maggie seconds earlier.

Hal inches slowly and cautiously towards Karen. "Karen...Put the gun-" he begins.

"Don't, Hal." Karen says, warning him; as she speaks she continues to keep her gun pointed at Maggie.

"Stand up." Karen orders.

When Maggie does not stand Karen speaks louder. "Stand up!" she yells.

Maggie stands slowly from the ground with her hands down by her side. Karen moves so she is standing behind Karen and as she gets there she presses the gun to her skull, to where the holes in her skull are from the cancer.

Hal knows this because he felt that soft spot on her head with his own fingers. Seeing Karen pressing the gun to Maggie's head causes Hal to feel such fear and worry.

Maggie's eyes flicker from Hal's to her left combat boot and then back to Hal. He understands what she means by such a simple gesture. There is a knife, one of many, in her left combat boot.

Hal shakes his head ever so slightly to tell Maggie not to do it.

"Karen..." Tom says; stepping slowly towards Hal's side as he speaks. "Just think about what you're-" he begins.

"Don't talk. Just be quiet, okay?" she orders.

"What do you want?" Hal asks; he ignores Karen's order to be quiet and as he speaks he slowly steps towards her.

"You want freedom, don't you?" Ben asks; he also takes a step towards Karen and moves past Hal. "You're confused." he adds. "You want to be free. You want to go away from here, don't you?" he asks.

Karen simply nods at Ben's words.

"Let her go and you can have your freedom." Tom tells her.

Karen shakes her head at this. "You're right. I don't belong here. But neither do you, Ben." Karen says; she shifts her gaze towards Ben as she continues, "These people, they don't care about you. They call you horrible names. You know that we're not accepted here."

Tom glances towards Ben as he says, "That's not true."

But as Tom speaks he isn't entirely sure if Ben believes him or if he believes Karen.

Maggie takes this moment as her moment to move. She, quickly, elbows Karen in the stomach before she reaches down to grab the knife from her combat boot. Just as Maggie holds the knife in her hand Karen snatches it from her and effortlessly throws it onto the ground behind them. Then, Karen backhands Maggie with more force and more violence causing her to fall down onto the ground, again.

Karen directs her gaze towards Tom Mason before she asks, with her gun still pointed at Maggie, "You humans...You don't listen, do you?"

Hal ignores Karen entirely as he continues to look down upon Maggie.

"Allow Ben to leave with me and I'll let her go." Karen suggests.

Tom glances from Maggie and then to Ben. His eyes are filled with desperation and fear. Maggie knows that Tom has made his decision; he would choose to keep Ben then to let him go with Karen in a heartbeat.

He would choose Ben's life over Maggie's and Maggie is okay with that. She's at peace with it. Maggie knows that Tom has a good, pure, honest heart and that he will always pick his sons. She also knows that Tom would not make the decision out loud but rather try to stall Karen. He would try to persuade Karen to leave peacefully.

But that will only end one way; with someone getting a bullet to their brain and if anyone is to suffer that fate Maggie decides that it will be her. Not Tom, Ben or Hal Mason but her.

"No deal." Maggie says, loudly; as she speaks she wipes the blood the trickles down from her lip onto the outside of her hand.

"If Ben will not leave with me..." Karen begins. "He will not go anywhere again." she says; as she speaks she lifts the gun to Ben's chest and fires three shots.

* * *

**A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews/support/followers. It means a lot knowing that you guys enjoy it. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**


	8. Close your tired eyes

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Tom Mason leans over Hal's limp and bloodied body he cannot contain the fear and pain that he is feeling. "Hal." he repeats. "Stay with me." he says; as he speaks he desperately tries to keep Hal awake. "Keep your eyes open, Hal. Don't close your eyes." he pleads.

Ben watches helplessly from where he kneels on the ground beside his father. He watches helplessly as his father panics over Hal's limp and lifeless body. He watches as the blood flows from the wounds on Hal's chest, thigh and cheek.

As Karen had fired the three shots, at Ben, Hal had moved so quickly. He'd pushed Ben down onto the ground; out of the firing line and out of danger. The first bullet had hit Hal's chest, the second had hit his thigh and the third bullet had grazed his cheek.

Hal hadn't felt the bullets as they had entered his body. He didn't see them coming towards him or hitting his body. But, he had felt them once they were inside. The pain was overwhelming. His legs had given out on him and he had fallen backwards onto the ground stumbling into Tector who had managed to catch him and gently lower his body down onto the ground.

Maggie moves, quickly, towards Hal's side and as she presses her hands against his chest to try to stop the bleeding she calls out to him. "Hal." she says, softly. "Hal, stay with me." she adds.

Maggie can't stop the bleeding. There is so much blood that she cannot do a thing. They're both drowning in it.

"Hal." Anne begins; as she leans over Hal's body after he has been quickly carried inside the med tent by Tector and Tom. "Hal, can you hear me?" she asks him.

Despite that Hal is not entirely unconscious he is not completely conscious and continues to move drowsily and breathe heavily.

"Hal, I need to get the bullets out, okay?" she tells him, softly.

Hal doesn't hear Anne. He doesn't understand her words. Instead, he mutters something so low and inaudible in response.

Maggie stands helplessly and alone at the back of the tent. She stares for a moment at Hal's body as Anne removes his jacket from his body and then cuts open his shirt so that she may tend to the wound on his chest. Maggie glances down from Hal's body towards the ground, beside Hal's jacket. She notices a photograph lying unnoticed and forgotten on the ground.

She takes a few feet forward and slowly bends down to pick up the photograph. Once standing she turns the photograph over and as she sets her eyes down upon it she freezes. The photograph is of her and of Robbie.

Her emotions soon swallow Maggie up as she finds that she cannot fight them. She finds that she cannot breathe in her. She wipes the blood from her hands onto a small cloth before she almost runs out of the tent for air. She doesn't stay in there because she can't be in there. If she's in there with him she'll have to confront her feelings; the feelings of panic, pain and fear that had consumed her at the very thought of her losing Hal.

Hours later, when Anne and Lourdes have tended to each of Hal's wounds and done all that they can for him, they allow Ben, Tom and Matt to enter. Once inside the tent, they pull up seats by his bedside and wait in mostly silence for him to wake up.

* * *

As Anne moves towards one of the med tents she almost pauses at the sight of Pope standing outside one of the tents. Upon catching sight of her he sighs but otherwise remains silent.

"Pope." Anne begins; as she speaks she steps towards him. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I, uh...I came to see Benjamin." he admits; as he speaks he scratches, somewhat nervously, at the back of his neck.

What Pope will never tell Anne or anyone else is that seeing Tom almost lose his son made Pope want to see his own son. It made him want his kids back. It made him want to protect them.

With a small, soft, reassuring smile Anne says, "Last bed on the right."

Only a few minutes have passed when Anne spots Pope leaving the tent. He appears to be in a worse mood than what he had been upon entering and it is the complete opposite of what she had expected his mood to be after reuniting with his son.

"Pope." Anne calls out. "How'd it go?" she asks, with a kind smile.

But Pope is not in the mood for Doctor Glass or anyone from the Second Mass and so he continues walking away from Anne, ignoring her completely as he does.

"Pope." Anne calls out, again, as she continues to follow him.

"Not my son." Pope says; as he speaks he continues walking and does not glance back at Anne.

Anne shakes her head and walks a little faster so that she may be standing before Pope. "Despite what they've done to him, he's still your son."

"No, doc, that boy is not my son." Pope replies, quickly. "Maybe if you'd done a bit of research, asked a couple questions, you may have learnt that he is not my son. My boy has green eyes not blue. That boy in there -he pulled the photograph off of a corpse." he says; as he speaks he is perhaps angrier than he has ever been.

"I'm-" Anne begins.

"You're what? You're sorry?" he asks; he tilts his head slightly to the side as he continues, "Maybe next time, Doc, you want to get your facts right before you give people false hope."

With those last words spoken, and with the photograph still held in his tightly clenched hands, Pope turns away from Anne and without a second look back at her or the med tent he continues walking as far away as he can.

* * *

Hal wakes three days after he was injured to find his brothers and father sitting by his side. To say that he wakes to a pain that is bad would be an understatement. As he wakes, weakened, pained and sore, his shoulder throbs, his leg feels disconnected from his body and his head stings.

Both the first and the second bullet went through and through, causing minor damage, and the third bullet simply grazed his cheek causing only a minor grazing, flesh wound, to his cheek. The medication that Anne had given Hal makes him a little groggy and slow but he's awake and that's all that matters.

Both of his brothers, and his father, hug him carefully and quickly so as not to cause him further pain. Within minutes the brothers are back to normal; joking around, insulting each other and playful fun that Tom observes from his chair.

Tom cannot help but think how he close he had come to losing Ben and then he had almost lost Hal. Not again, Tom thinks. He won't allow it to happen again. He will protect them better and until his death. He can't lose them. They are his world and he loves them so very much. He would die protecting them and keeping them safe.

But, Tom also knows that Hal would die for his brothers and for his father and this scares Tom. Tom cannot let Hal get into a situation that would require him to do such a thing because he knows that Hal would all too willingly give his life for his family.

"What you did..." Tom begins; he pauses as he glances up to Ben. "You saved your brother." he says.

Hal, who had slowly closed his eyes and had stopped adding into conversation so regularly as he did minutes earlier, sighs softly. "It's nothing." he says. "He's my brother...Of course..." he adds; he trails off as he remembers his argument with Maggie when she'd said that Hal treated his brother like the enemy.

"He's my brother." Hal repeats.

He will always do anything that he can to help, protect and save his brothers. It's not because it's his duty as the eldest brother to protect them but it's something that he has to do. It's something that he has always wanted to do. It's a part of his heart, to protect them, and it's in his blood.

* * *

Maggie, who had finally come to visit Hal late the next afternoon, finds his head is bandaged as is his shoulder and ankle. As she looks upon him she finds that he looks so incredibly peaceful and painless sleeping and she finds that she cannot wake him just yet and so she leaves him to his peaceful rest.

Later that night, when Hal wakes he slowly opens his eyes to find that he is not sleep alone in the cot. It takes him a moment to realise that it is Maggie lying next to him. They are lying face to face, closer than they were that night in the car, with their bodies pressed closely together but Maggie had been careful not to lie too close so she wouldn't touch his wounds.

The fire lit in the corner of the tent provides enough light in the otherwise dark tent. He finds that Maggie's eyes are closed and for a moment he considers not speaking but soon enough the words pass his lips and they are gone.

"Hey..." Hal says; his voice is hoarse and weak as he speaks.

Maggie opens her eyes at the sound of his voice in the room. She lifts her gaze towards him and says, "Morning, sleepyhead."

Hal pauses before he asks, "How long have I been out?"

"Almost a whole day." she answers.

He hesitates before he begins, "Maggie."

As he speaks Maggie slowly looks up into his eyes. "Don't, Hal." she tells him. "You don't have to say anything." she adds.

"I'm sorry." he says; he speaks despite that she had insisted that he didn't have to say anything because he feels as though he has to. "For not trusting you. For letting her...We're partners, we're supposed to protect each other." he says; as he finishes speaking he lets out a small sigh.

"Yeah, well..." Maggie begins. "I think we both failed at that so let's just call it even." she suggests, with a small sigh.

Quickly wanting to change the conversation, Maggie asks, "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Hal answers; he sounds weak and still tired as he speaks.

"Don't be a baby." Maggie replies; she smiles as she speaks.

Maggie notices, now, that the bandage on Hal's cheek is coming loose and so she raises her hand to his cheek to fix it. "Your bandage is coming loose." she tells him; as she speaks she smooths it down so gently and as she does this her eyes stay focused on his cheek because she knows that Hal is watching her at this very moment as he always does.

And if Maggie looks into his eyes now she will be forced to confront feelings that she is still unsure of.

After Maggie finishes fixing the bandage her hand unintentionally lingers on Hal's cheek. She closes her eyes and lets out a small, shaky sigh. Her hand continues to rest on his face still.

"Hey..." Hal begins, softly. "What's up?" he asks.

Maggie pauses before she says, "I'm, uh...I'm just glad that you're ok."

She is so incredibly glad that Hal is okay and that they didn't lose him.

Maggie drops her hand down to her side and re-opens her eyes. She looks up at Hal again and hesitates before she asks, "You still thinking about Karen?"

She asks this question with no traces of anger or jealously in her voice. She isn't angry or jealous that Hal may be thinking of Karen. She's curious.

"No...I mean, yes." he sighs. "I just...She has the same eyes. They could cut right through you. And I can't stop thinking how I used to put my arm around her...I even thought I loved her." he says; as he speaks his expression shifts into that of a slightly saddened one.

Maggie asks, softly, "You still in love with her?"

Hal sighs, again. "No. Of course not...How could I be? I just wish I could get my brain to stop thinking about her." he admits.

Maggie lifts her head from where it had previously rested on the pillow that she was sharing with Hal. She lifts her hand against his cheek again and presses her lips against his. This kiss is different to the first kiss that they'd share. It's more passionate. It's not an uncertain one. Maggie wants this. She wants Hal.

After pulling away from Hal, Maggie rests her head gently against his and lets out a small sigh.

"So..." Hal begins. His eyes stay closed for a moment as he asks, "What happened to, 'Hal, I'm not the right person for you'?"

"Changed my mind." Maggie answers, simply.

Hal opens his eyes, slowly, now as he asks, "Just like that?"

"Just like that." she repeats; as she speaks she drops her hand from his face down to her side. "You need to rest. Get some sleep." she tells him.

Hal reluctantly agrees to Maggie's suggestion and slowly closes his eyes. As he lies there with his eyes closed he waits for Maggie to leave as he'd expected her to. But she doesn't leave him.

Instead, she moves closer to Hal if possible. She takes his hand and places it on top of hers, holding it until he falls into a gentle, well deserved sleep.

Hal sleeps for what feels as though it could have been days, weeks even, but in reality it has been as little as six hours. As he wakes he finds that Maggie has moved out of the cot, away from him, and is now sitting on the edge of the bed across from Hal fidgeting with her hands.

"Hey..." Hal says, weakly.

Maggie looks up as soon as she hears Hal speak. She pauses before she asks, "Did I wake you?"

"No." Hal answers. "No you didn't." he adds.

Maggie nods once and hesitates before she stands slowly from the side of the bed. She takes her time as she moves back towards Hal's cot but once she reaches it she lies down beside him as they were resting a few hours earlier. She moves slowly and carefully as her burns are still raw and her stitches still ache greatly.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, softly.

"Better." Hal smiles; he leans forward towards Maggie as he speaks and as the words pass his lips he gently kisses her on the lips.

"Better?" she asks, as she pulls away for a moment.

Still smiling, Hal says, "Much better."

He leans in towards Maggie and kisses her again; her hand falls down from where it had rested softly against Hal's cheek down to his chest which is covered only by bandages and no shirt.

As she pulls away from Hal, Maggie says, "I guess this kept you safe after all."

She lifts the Saint Jude Pendant from Hal's chest and holds it in her hands for a moment as she continues to look down at it.

"Yeah." Hal says. "I guess it did." he adds; as he speaks he watches as Maggie releases the pendant from her hands and allows it to fall softly back to where it had previously rested.

"Hal..." Maggie begins; she says his name so softly as she reaches into her jacket pocket.

"I found this." she says; as she speaks she pulls out a folded photograph. "It fell out of your pocket." she tells him.

Hal recognises the photograph as the one he had found in her room. He notes that her hands are shaking slightly as she holds it up so he may see it. Hal breathes in tightly, hurting his chest as he does so.

"Maggie..." he sighs, softly. "I'm sorry." he says.

"No." Maggie says, quickly. "Thank you, Hal, for finding it." she tells him, with a small smile.

She pauses before she says, "That's my brother, Robbie, in the photo. When they shaved my head for the surgery, Robbie had his shaved off too."

"Where is he?" Hal asks, with a much quieter voice.

He watches as Maggie stays silent as she pushes the photograph back into the pocket of her jacket. Hal isn't sure if Maggie was going to answer him or if she was going to change the subject entirely but she doesn't have the chance to speak as Anne enters the room.

"Hal, how are you - Oh, I'm sorry." Anne says; she stops as she steps inside Hal's tent. She looks, somewhat awkwardly, between Hal and Maggie before she says, "I didn't think you'd have company. Sorry."

Maggie almost instantly stands up from Hal's bed and half walks, half limps, so that she is not standing in Anne's way. She watches from the side as Anne checks on Hal's injuries. After Anne has finished inspecting and tending to Hal's wounds she offers him crutches but Maggie steps forward and offers Hal her cane.

She believes that Hal wouldn't feel as useless with a cane as he would with crutches. She insists that she doesn't need the cane anymore, upon noticing Hal's reluctant expression, and tells him that she only has a small limp now.

When Hal stands for the first time after sustaining his injuries Tom and Ben are on either side of him ready to catch him if he falls.

The pain is overwhelming and at some points it nearly consumes him entirely. If it weren't for the medication that Anne had given him the pain would be so incredibly worse. Hal tries to walk on his injured leg but he needs time and rest so Matt and Ben, who are being supportive, and Tom, who is being overly supportive, leave Hal to rest.

Later that evening, when Maggie is certain that Hal has rested in the day, she returns to him. She finds him resting against a few propped up pillows and sitting upright. He smiles as he catches sight of her and is already in a much better mood upon seeing her. She brings his dinner to him and eats hers with him; she sits at the end of his bed and they spend the night talking and laughing for hours.

As Maggie notes that Hal looks as though he needs to rest, again, she slowly stands from his bed and says, "You need to get some rest, Hal. You're going to need it."

Hal notes that as Maggie stands at the end of his bed her eyes flicker towards the opening of the tent and then back to Hal.

"What?" she asks him.

"Nothing." he replies, simply, before he closes his eyes.

Hal doesn't need to open his eyes again to know that Maggie has crawled underneath the blankets and now lies in the bed next t him. She carefully pulls the blankets up over his shoulders and then over her own. She finds his hand underneath the covers and holds it. Neither say anything else because they don't need to.

In the morning when Hal wakes to find the room softly lit up by the light of the morning sun he finds Maggie sitting on the edge of the bed across from Hal, again.

Her eyes, which had been staring lifelessly down at a spot on the floor, lift towards Hal and as she notices he is awake they become filled with something new; hope, feeling, life.

"Hey." she says, with a smile. She pushes back a strand of her hair before she says, "I didn't want to wake you but I have to go on patrol."

Hal frowns slightly and pauses before he says, "You shouldn't be on patrol yet, Maggie."

Immediately, he is worried and concerned for Maggie. He knows that she is well but she's not well enough to go on patrol yet.

"I'll be fine, Hal." she tells him, with a soft, reassuring smile.

"Maggie..." he begins; he begins to ask her not to go, to ask her to stay with him but he falls silent as she speaks.

"Trust me on this. OK?" she asks him.

Hal nods, once. "OK." he answers

* * *

After eating his breakfast, Hal tries to walk with his cane again. Ben joins him in the room and finds Hal alone and attempting to walk with his cane by himself. Ben tries to help Hal however he can.

"Hal..." Ben begins.

"You don't have to say anything." Hal tells him; as he speaks he realises how much he sounds like Maggie.

Maggie never wants to talk about anything, ever. Hal knows that. He tries not to push her but sometimes he does because sometimes he just wants to break down those walls and be close to her. He wants to help her to feel something. He wants to help her to heal.

"OK." Ben nods; as he speaks he lowers his gaze down to his boots.

Seeing his brother in such pain causes Ben a great deal of pain and knowing that Hal did it for him causes Ben to want to thank his brother but he cannot.

Hal hesitates before he asks, "Shouldn't you be on patrol?"

Ben simply nods once at Hal.

Hal answers, "OK."

And those are the last words spoken by Hal as he stares after Ben as he leaves the tent. As Ben leaves, Hal wonders if he should have let his brother speak.

After finding the strength to use his cane again, Hal steps out of his tent with the cane firmly in his hand. As he does so, he is almost run into and knocked over by Tom who was coming to see him.

"Hal." Tom begins. "Did I - am I catching you on the walk of shame...Or, should I say the limp of shame?" Tom asks; as he speaks a grin appears on his face. He's trying to lighten Hal's mood.

Hal grimaces in pain but he passes it off as a smile. "No, Dad." Hal sighs. "It wasn't funny then and it isn't now." he adds.

A numb, throbbing pain shoots and moves throughout Hal's body with every moment and step he makes and every breath he takes.

Tom says, with a small smile, "The tent walls are thin, Hal."

"Well...What do you know? Second time around is still awkward." Hal says; as he speaks he shakes his head slightly.

"OK. OK." Tom says; still with a small smile.

For a moment, Tom watches Hal carefully and closely as the slowly make their way through the campsite. "Are you okay, Hal?" Tom asks, finally.

Hal nods once before he answers, "I'm good."

But Hal isn't good. Not at all. The pain is so overwhelmingly bad. He feels useless, like a liability.

* * *

As Ben walks slowly by Maggie's side he glances towards her and lets out a small sigh.

"I'm surprised you took patrol." he states.

He's trying to make conversation with Maggie because so far it's been awkward and silent.

Maggie answers, sharply, "It's better than doing nothing."

"I mean..." Ben begins; he stops and lets out another, smaller, sigh before he says. "I'm surprised that you took it with me. After everything with Karen."

As Ben finishes speaking he looks up towards Maggie who he finds is already watching him.

"I didn't tell anyone that you lied, Ben, and I have no intention of doing so." Maggie tells him.

Ben simply nods and lowers his gaze down towards the ground.

"I don't hold anything against you, Ben. I understand." Maggie adds; as she speaks she continues to watch Ben.

"No." Ben says, quickly. "I don't think you do." he mutters.

"Well, you're wrong there. I do understand what it's like to be excluded, to be different, to feel like you're not safe anywhere. I understand what its likes not knowing who you are anymore. And, in the darkness you find someone who you think is exactly like you and you make a connection, a bond, because you don't want to feel empty anymore. You're sick of feeling nothing…and you just want the loneliness to disappear. I get it." Maggie says; as she speaks she still continues to watch Ben.

She holds his gaze for a moment longer before she drops her eyes down towards the ground.

"Does it go away?" Ben asks.

He takes a step towards Maggie as he asks, "Does the loneliness ever go away?"

"I think…" Maggie begins, with a small smile on her face. "…That if you let your family in that your emptiness will go away. Safety isn't a guarantee, not in this world. But you have so many people that love and care about you, Ben. You don't have to be lonely."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for all the feedback/reviews/support. Really good to know that you guys like my FF. This chapter does not have much, if any, action and is mainly focused on Maggie/Hal bonding. Hope that you enjoy it.**

**:)**


	9. The sun is gone, for now

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

_"I have to go, Dad."_

Those words haunt Tom Mason. They torment him. They bring him such pain and sadness. They cause him to feel such separation and loss. His boy. His son; gone to god knows where doing god knows what and all that Tom can do is have hope that Ben will return to him.

Tom knows that he should have faith in his son but in this world faith is so hard to gain. It's so hard to believe in. Tom has little to no faith right now. All that he is holding onto is the hope that Charleston is real and the hope that Ben will come back to him, safely, as he always does. He cannot lose any of his sons for without them he would be so utterly devastated and lost. He has to believe in his heart that Ben will return.

The entire Second Mass continues on to Charleston an hour after Ben leaves. Tom, Matt, Anne and Lourdes are on the med bus together. Tector and Weaver are in a separate truck, together. Hal and Maggie are in a separate truck at the front of the line, with Pope in the back, keeping the road safe for the Second Mass driving behind them.

Maggie had tried to ignore Pope, who had since learning that Benjamin was not his Benjamin has become more of an ass than ever before, during their journey but it is a difficult thing to do considering how often he puts his head through the back window of the truck to simply annoy them or ask for pit stops.

Hal tells Pope that they can't stop until they run out of fuel, which he silently prays doesn't happen until they are safely in Charleston. If Charleston even exists.

Maggie lets out a small sigh before she admits, "I'm ready to kill him."

"Say the word." Hal tells her, with a small smile. "I've got your back." he adds.

Maggie silently muses over Hal's words before she states, "You don't have enough dark in your soul."

As she speaks Maggie is careful to continue to watch Hal. Upon hearing her words he briefly glances at her.

"What does that mean?" he asks. "I can go dark." he adds, with the hint of a smile on his lips.

Maggie pauses before she asks, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Hal replies, quickly.

As she turns towards Hal, studying the expression on his features, Maggie asks, "What's the darkest thing you've ever done?"

"Well..." he begins.

A small smile appears on Hal's face as he doesn't say anything else.

"Just as I expected." Maggie says, with a small smile on her own face.

A dark silence soon fills the truck and Maggie allows it to remain between her and Hal for quite some time but eventually she speaks and manages to convince Hal to confide in her what is wrong.

"I don't understand...Why Ben left." Hal admits; he looks briefly towards Maggie as he speaks before redirecting his attention to the road.

"Ben's coming back." Maggie says, simply. "I can feel it." she adds.

Hal lets out a small sigh before he replies, "I wish that I could believe that."

"Sometimes...You just have to trust that fate will throw you a favour." Maggie tells him. She continues, with a much lower tone, "I never thought that I'd recover from the life that I had before. There was nothing good there...And, then came you."

As she finishes speaking a small smile appears on Maggie's face. Seeing this smile brings a smile to Hal's face and he silently wonders to himself how he was so lucky as to find someone so great, and so amazing, as Maggie.

Minutes later, Pope sticks his head through the back window after overhearing Hal's belief that the truck was overheating. He tells Hal about a river up ahead. He knows about this river because he used to take that road to visit his kids in Florida.

"Kids?" Hal asks. "Kids?" he repeats; he glances towards Maggie as he asks, "Pope has kids?"

"Yep." Maggie answers, simply.

They are forced to pull their truck over to the side of the road and after checking the radiator Pope informs Hal that the radiator hose has a hole in it and he will be able to fix it but they will need water. Hal volunteers to go and get the water and as he begins to walk in the direction of the river, with a tank to fill up with water in his hand, he stops and turns back towards Maggie who he finds hasn't moved from where she stood a few feet away from the truck.

Upon catching Hal's gaze Maggie says, simply, "I'll watch him."

Hal nods once and as he begins moving again his pace seems to pick up as he moves as fast as he can towards the river. He doesn't want to leave Maggie alone with Pope for too long. He doesn't particularly like the idea of leaving her with Pope at all but he knows that she is more than capable of protecting herself.

Hal's leg has improved significantly with the medication Anne had given him and with time his leg had healed but he still couldn't run as fast or for as long as he once could. It hurts him to move as quickly as he is but he doesn't like the idea of Maggie being left alone with Pope and so he'll endure the pain so that he may return to her.

Pope takes a step back away from the engine and leans against the front of the truck. He watches Maggie for a moment as she continues to keep her back facing him.

"What's going to happen when he finds out the truth about you?" he calls out. "About who and what you really are, what then?" he asks her; he raises his voice slightly as he speaks.

Maggie ignores Pope, as she often does, and continues to gaze out in the direction of the forest as she waits for Hal to return.

"People like us..." Pope begins. "We don't belong in Charleston. I know it, you know it. It's only a matter of time before he realises it too." he adds.

Maggie turns, so very slowly, to face Pope and as she does she says, sharply, "I'm not like you."

"I think..." Pope begins. "You're more like me than you realise. More like me than you'd care to admit." he adds.

"No, I'm not." Maggie replies, so very quickly. "And nothing good will come from Hal learning my past." she tells Pope; as she speaks she lowers her gaze so that it is resting down onto her combat boots.

"The truth, Margaret-May..." Pope begins; he takes a step towards Maggie and then leans in as he whispers, "Will set you free."

"What I don't get..." Pope continues. "Is why you only told him half of your sob story, about the cancer? You're keeping the darkest parts from him and I think it's because you want him to feel sorry for you. You want savior. But, you don't want to tell him everything because he won't be able to handle it. He'll run away and you know that." Pope says; as he speaks his voice rises greatly and he continues to watch Maggie.

Maggie, who can almost taste the alcohol on Pope's breath, takes a step back as she says, "You're a real ass."

As he continues to watch Maggie, Pope counters, "You didn't always feel that way, did you, Mags?"

"No, I did. I was just a good liar." she replies.

Pope nods once, and answers, "And you still are now."

"What happens if he finds out?" Pope asks. "Somewhere down the track? Not from me. I cross my heart and hope to die." he says; literally crossing his heart as he speaks. "But, if he does, what then?" he asks, taunting her.

Pope glances up from Maggie to see Hal walking, quickly, towards them. He leans in slightly as he adds, "Tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

After fixing the radiator hole, Pope, as he passes Maggie's window, stops and leans against the inside of her car window.

"Don't worry about the others." Pope says. "They're all good, honest people." he adds, with a smirk on his face as he watches Maggie. "I'd offer to drive but you two kids have a lot to talk about." he says; as he finishes speaking he jumps into the back of the truck.

Maggie, quickly, slams the small window shut so that Pope is not able to stick his head through it again. Then, she angrily rolls up the car window on her side.

Hal pauses before he asks, "Did Pope say something?"

"No." Maggie answers, sharply, without looking at Hal.

"Really?" he asks; he continues to watch her silently before he states, "Because you're acting all weird."

"It's nothing." Maggie insists.

Hal, who does not believe Maggie at all, says, "I'll stop this truck right now and kick his teeth in if he said anything to make you upset."

Maggie simply shakes her head once before she says, "It's nothing."

Hal falls silent, now, and does not ask Maggie what's wrong again. He does not ask her if Pope said something. He doesn't speak. Maggie can see clearly that he is angry with her. He's upset and annoyed and she knows why. It's because she avoided talking to him about what was wrong.

"What?" she asks.

Hal simply shakes his head once and remains silent.

Maggie lets out a small, nervous sigh before she briefly closes her eyes. She can almost hear her own heart beating in her chest. Pounding a million miles a second.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

She wonders, for a moment, if Hal can hear it and she's almost certain that he can.

Now or never, Maggie thinks. She would prefer never but Hal is bound to find out eventually and perhaps he won't take the news as badly as she fears he will or as badly as Pope has convinced her that he will. Perhaps, Hal won't run.

"Ok…" Maggie sighs; she slowly opens her eyes before she says, "After I got out of the hospital...Everything just looked so fake, so plastic."

She pauses before she continues,"Everyone's smiling, asking me if I'm okay, and you know...Not knowing what to say about my shaved head and my scars. I just got to the point where I had to get away from everyone, just everything…."

Maggie pauses again, for a moment. As she stops she can feel Hal's hazel eyes watching her.

He'll understand, she hopes. He's pure-hearted, good. He's kind. Hal Mason is everything that she had believed didn't exist anymore.

"So, suddenly, I found myself at eighteen living with this guy in some hole. Sleeping on a dirty mattress and slamming whatever junk we could afford into our veins. Eventually, we started breaking into houses and..." Maggie says; she pauses only for a brief second before she continues, "stealing whatever we could find. But we got caught, and uh...I ended up at Framingham Correctional Facility. I found out, there, that I was three months pregnant...So, I had my boy in Framingham. His beautiful eyes. That's all I can remember before they took him away..."

As she finishes speaking, Maggie lets out a small breath of air. It's out. Her secret is out. Her life is out for Hal to know about. She has bared a small, vulnerable, part of her soul. She's bared a small part of her heart and of her pain and in return for this she receives silence.

Maggie says, softly, "So...that's my story. That's the whole of it."

Still, she receives only silence from Hal. She didn't expect this from Hal at all. She had expected some kind of reaction, some sort of emotion, but instead she gets nothing.

"So…do you have anything to say?" Maggie asks; as she speaks she glances up towards Hal.

"Ah..." Hal mutters; he lifts his right hand to scratch at the back of his neck. "It isn't easy." he adds.

"It isn't easy?" She asks; how absurd she finds such a statement is clear in her voice.

She is, somewhat, hurt that this was his response. All that Hal can say is that it isn't easy to hear such things.

"Telling you wasn't easy." Maggie says. "Living it sure wasn't easy. Remembering it isn't easy. Surviving it wasn't damn easy." she adds; her voice rises slightly as she speaks and as she does she continues to watch him.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I know." Hal agrees. He pauses to sigh, softly, before he continues, "I, uh...I need time."

As he speaks, Hal is careful to keep his eyes firmly on the road in front of them.

Hearing Hal say that he needs time doesn't surprise Maggie all that much. Deep down, she knew that this would happen. She doesn't believe that she is good enough for Hal. Hal knows it too. It was only a matter of time before she forced herself to see the truth; to see who and what she really is.

"OK." Maggie replies. "Take all the time you need." she adds; as she speaks she turns her full attention back to the road.

Take all the time in the world, she thinks. It won't matter. It won't change anything.

Just as she Maggie turns back towards the road a bright light shines down on them causing Hal to stop the truck abruptly. The moment that the lines come on, Pope is up and behind the machine gun ready to blow to hell whatever comes through the lights.

It isn't aliens or mechs, its Colonel Porter; the man that they'd all assumed was dead, and his army group. They greet Hal, Maggie and Pope, offer them water and talk to Hal about the rest of the Second Mass and how they are headed to Charleston. With Colonel Porters help, they are able to re-join the Second Mass, who had lost hope about Charleston until now.

"You scared me." Tom admits; as he speaks he walks up towards Hal and warps his arms tightly around his son.

Seconds later, Matt comes running up towards Tom and Hal who both pull him into a tight embrace.

"Now, all that's missing is Ben." Matt says, sadly.

Matt says what all of them were thinking. All that is missing is Ben.

Hal half bends down as he rests his hands on Matt's shoulders. He says, softly, "Ben's coming back to us. I know he will. Sometimes fate throws you a favour." Hal pauses; he catches a small glimpse of Maggie out of the corner of his eyes.

Maggie sees, on Hal's face, a hint of smile before he turns back towards Matt. "You just gotta be around to catch it."

Maybe, Maggie thinks. Maybe Hal could accept her past. Maybe, he'll be okay with it and they can go back to how they were. Maybe fate will throw her another favour. God knows that she could use one right now.

* * *

The Second Mass had hoped that Charleston would be a place of safety, security, and filled with resistance fighters that could help them in taking out the aliens. But, they were wrong about having more fighters. They weren't even sure if they had safety or security here with members of the Second Mass being locked up, and separated.

Tom had already gotten into several, heated, arguments with members of the army and with their leader Arthur Manchester. The people in Charleston didn't believe that the Second Mass had fought the aliens and there were many rumours spreading about Tom and the rest of the Second Mass.

"Maggie." Hal says; he calls out to her softly as he prods her arm for the fourth time.

It's four in the morning and after waking at one thirty, Hal had been restless. and unable to return to sleep. He couldn't get Maggie out of his head and so he had come in search of her. The truth is that she never leaves his thoughts.

Maggie wakes startled and with her trusty knife in her hand. She places it to Hal's neck, harshly, ready to push the blade through his neck.

"Woah. Maggie, it's me." Hal says, softly.

Maggie had been separated from most of the Second Mass so she knew two out of the eight people she was bunking with.

Maggie keeps her knife to his neck for moment, until her heart slows down, before she slowly lowers it from Hal's neck but she does not put the knife away completely but rather keeps it in her hand.

"What do you want?" she whispers; the annoyance in her voice is clear for Hal to hear and it's understandable.

Hal begins, "I wanted to talk to you-"

"Really?" she asks. "Now, you want to talk?" she questions; as she speaks she sits up onto the mattress.

"Yes." Hal replies. "And, I wanted to show you something." he adds.

"Not interested, Hal." Maggie replies, quickly; as she speaks she pushes the hair back off of her face.

"Is this because of what happened in the truck?" he asks her.

"Yes, it is." Maggie answers. "I expected a reaction to the news that I had a baby in prison but what I got was no reaction, no true emotion. I got teenage silence." she adds. She pauses before she says, with an angrier tone, "Go."

"Maggie, just come with me. Please." Hal says; his hazel eyes, like beacons, are lit up by the light that seeps into the dark room.

"Nothing has changed between us." she states.

Hal shakes his head as he moves so that he is sitting down on Maggie's bed, in front of her.

"That's where you're wrong." he answers. "Do you know why I didn't need time to think after you told me about your bad girl past?"

"Tell me." Maggie says.

"It didn't make sense. I didn't know that Maggie. I've never met her before." Hal says; he pauses briefly before he continues, "The only Maggie that I know is the one right here in front of me. The one that saved my butt more times than I can count. The one who put her own life on the line for the Second Mass over and over again." Hal says; as he speaks he continues to watch Maggie withsuch intensity._  
_

"But..." he continues. "We're going to wipe the slate clean." he states. "I'm no longer Hal the high school jock and you're not Maggie the junkie thief. That might be the only good thing that came out of this mess. A chance to start over, to become better people than we were before."

Maggie asks, with a hint on the smile on her face, "Nice speech. You been practicing?"

"A little." Hal adds; a smile, that has the power to drive Maggie crazy, appears on his face as he answer.

Maggie continues to watch Hal silently for a moment as she realises that he is the best thing that has ever happened to her. He is the only good thing that has happened in quite some time.

"Now..." Hal begins, still with a smile on his face. "Will you come with me?"

Maggie nods once as she answers, "OK."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for all the feedback/reviews/support. Hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Also, I just watched the finale of FS season two and can I say WOW! So surprising and shocking. I will be thinking of ways to incorporate some of that stuff into future chapters.**

**Anyway, thanks for the support. Enjoy this one.**

**:)**


	10. No one can hurt you

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Maggie quickly pulls on her combat boots and places her trusty knife into her left boot before she stands from her bed and pulls on her green jacket over her black hoodie. She then follows Hal as he leads her out of her room and down unfamiliar, dark and empty hallways. He stops abruptly and sinks back behind a wall, pushing Maggie back as he does this.

Guards, who constantly monitor the hallways, are patrolling the area that Hal wishes to go to.

Hal raises his finger to his lips, motioning for Maggie to be silent, before he slowly extends his head around the corner to find that the guards are gone. But they'll be back soon so they don't have much time. He turns back towards Maggie and nods once before he walks swiftly and quietly towards the exit door. He pushes it open allowing Maggie to step out first before he follows her out of it.

"Hal, what are we doing?" Maggie asks; she asks this because she's not only curious but also concerned.

They shouldn't be out here, she thinks, and she has no idea where exactly 'here' is and no idea where Hal is taking her. For some fresh air, perhaps.

"Now..." Hal begins. "I'm not sure if this is the flower you were talking about...But it'll have to do." he says; as he speaks he stops walking and waits for Maggie to join him.

As Maggie steps past Hal her eyes fall down to a small meadow of sorts which reminds her of the bleachers that she used to hide under. The area is surrounded with trees, some of which are alive and bursting with bushy green leaves while others are dead or broken, and between this circle of trees is a small are of thick green grass. On top of the grass are hundreds of lilac coloured flowers.

Maggie takes a few, silent steps forward before she stops and sits down. Hal joins her, without speaking, and continues to watch her silently.

"Wow..." Maggie mutters. She turns towards Hal as she states, with a smile spreading across her face, "We are so cliche."

"What?" Hal asks, with a small laugh.

He watches as Maggie lies down, slowly, so that she is lying among the flowers.

"We're lying in a meadow Hal. It doesn't get much more cliche than this." she tells him; still smiling as she speaks because she does find this to be such a sweet thing for Hal to do.

As Hal lies down next to Maggie he mutters, "Yeah...Guess it is...Kind of like twilight."

"Twilight?" Maggie asks; she glances up at Hal with slightly raised eyebrows as she asks, "You watched twilight?"

Hal shakes his head, once, as he answers, "No – a few scenes…"

"What, did Ri-ta make you watch them?" Maggie asks; a small laugh passes her lips as she speaks.

"It was a few scenes, ok?" Hal says. "I didn't watch the entire movie." he adds.

Maggie grins as she answers, "Okay, Ed."

Maggie pauses as she lets out a small sigh. "Hal...This is..." she begins but falls silent.

"Sweet?" Hal suggests; as he speaks he continues to wear a grin on his face.

Maggie shakes her head as she answers, "Stupid. Incredibly stupid. We have one knife. No other weapons...But, it's a little sweet."

This causes Hal smile to widen and as he turns his head towards Maggie he says, "I'm a sweet guy."

"Mmm..." Maggie agrees. She continues to watch Hal as she admits, "No one has ever done anything like this for me before."

"Really?" Hal asks. "What about old boyfriends?"

As the words pass Hal's lips, he watches as Maggie's eyes falter from his to the flower that stands, sticking up between them. She continues to gaze down onto it with such attention as though she is taking in each and every detail of it.

"Nah..." Maggie mutters. "They weren't...I never really had a real boyfriend..." she admits. She pauses before she continues, "But the guys that I...well, they weren't very nice. They weren't like you."

Hal remains silent for a moment as he wonders how Maggie came to be alone. He wonders how anyone could possibly let her go. He doesn't understand how someone could let her go. He could never let her go and he could never give up hope on her.

Hope is really all that anyone has. Well, that's what Hal used to think. But know, he realises he has much more than hope. He has his family, but he always knew that and he knows he'll always have them even with Ben gone because he knows Ben will come back. He has too because Ben is his little brother and Hal is supposed to protect him.

Now, Hal realises he has whatever this is with Maggie. He doesn't plan to give up anytime soon. When he first met Maggie he'd known that there was something between them. Something much stronger than anything he'd ever felt before. But he'd never thought that they would happen.

And Maggie, well, never in her wildest dreams did she think she had a chance with Hal Mason; the good, pure hearted, kind soul that is Hal Mason the fighter, the protector and the saviour.

This, them, whatever it is between them, Maggie had always felt it. She'd always known there was something there. And Hal had been so damn persistent. She'd given in to him and now she knows that there is no turning back. It wasn't an option, not to her anyway. She couldn't. Not when she had opened her heart and soul to him. She couldn't take that back and honestly she didn't want to.

As Hal looks down at Maggie he asks her, "What are you thinking?"

"What?" she asks, with a small smile returning to her face.

"I look at you sometimes and I wonder...what's going through your head. What you're thinking about." Hal admits; as he speaks he still continues to watch Maggie.

He often finds himself looking at her and wondering what she is thinking or what she is feeling.

"I'm thinking..." Maggie begins. "That I'm hungry." she says, smiling as she speaks.

Her eyes, while still swirling with a darkness that Hal has recently begun to notice, seem to be filled with something else, something new; life, happiness.

Maggie moves closer to Hal so that she is resting her head on his chest. He drops his hand, to Maggie's arm, and pulls her into his chest so that he may be able to put both of his arms around her.

"You." Maggie says, softly, after a few moments have passed between them.

"What?" Hal replies; clearly a little confused.

"I was thinking about you." she admits.

"Oh, really?" he asks; he looks down to Maggie as he finds that her eyes are closed. "What were you thinking?" he asks, curiously.

"That...after you got shot…and, I saw you lying there, bleeding out on the ground….the thought of losing you…it terrified me." she tells him; she speaks with a slightly shaky voice and continues to keep her eyes closed.

"You've got nothing to worry about, Maggie." Hal replies, quickly. "You're not going to lose me." he adds.

Maggie sighs, as she replies, "You don't know that, Hal."

And Hal knows she's right. He doesn't know that. Life is one of the most uncertain things in this new world.

"No. I don't but I do know that I'm never going to let anything happen to you and you won't let anything happen to me. We're partners, that's what we do, we protect each other." Hal says; his voice is softer but more confident as he speaks.

"And...When the day comes that the aliens are all gone, if that day ever comes, and society has to slowly repair itself. What happens to us? Where do we go?" she asks

She knows that she shouldn't be thinking of the future when there might not even be a future but Maggie's curiosity gets the better of her and she wants to know what could happen and what they could have.

"Well..." Hal begins. "Firstly, I'm gonna buy a civic." he says, jokingly, with a cheeky smile.

"Hal..." Maggie sighs. "I'm not that kind of girl-" she begins.

"I know. I know. That's what I-" he begins but quickly stops.

Hal had almost said love. He had almost said 'That's what I love about you."

Hal coughs, pretending that was his reason for stopping, before he continues, "That's what I like about you. And really...We'll just see where it goes. We have all the time in the world. We're not going anywhere. How does that sound?"

"Too good to be true." Maggie answers; as she speaks she opens her eyes so that she may look upon Hal.

"It is true, Maggie." he tells her. "I'm not going anywhere. You're gonna end up getting annoyed at me for all the time we spend together." Hal says; he says this with an irresistible smile.

"Annoyed?" Maggie asks; she leans forward and kisses Hal once before she says, "I don't think I'd get annoyed at you."

"Give it time." Hal grins; as he finishes speaking he kisses her back.

"I wish…we could just stay here." Maggie whispers.

She feels so safe here in Hal's arms, so secure. Like nothing could ever hurt either of them.

"One day." Hal answers.

One day they'll have all the time in the world and they won't waste a second of it.

She rests her head on his chest again and he pulls her closer and for a while they just hold each other not saying anything because right now they don't need words. Just being with each other is enough.

Life is precious, so is time, and they could lose each other at any moment. Not now, Hal thinks. Nothing could take him away from her right now.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late-ish update. Thanks so much for all the feedback/favourites/followers and to anyone who takes the time to read this. Hope that you guys like this new chapter.**

**P.s I know it's shorter in comparison to the other chapters, but I felt right about ending it the way I did. Next chapters will make up for the shortness in this one.**

**Enjoy!**


	11. Soft morning light

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal glances up from the gun that he had been shooting targets with to find Anne walking quickly towards him with an unreadable expression on her face. Hal smiles at Anne but she does not return the smile and this causes Hal great worry. He drops his weapon down on the table and quickly moves towards her.

"Anne, what's up?" he asks.

His first concerns were for his brothers, his father, and for Maggie.

Anne quickly looks around her, at all of the Charleston soldiers, before she says, "There's a situation, Hal."

Hal frowns slightly before he asks, "What do you mean?"

"Why don't we take a walk, Hal?" Anne asks; as she speaks she slyly indicates with her eyes that they should leave.

They walk for a few minutes in silence until they're far enough away from the Charleston military men so that they may speak in private.

"I can't find your father, anywhere..." Anne begins. "So, I've come to you. Ben's back. And the army guys, after noticing his spikes, wanted to throw him out. Weaver refused, so did Colonel Porter. So, these army guys grabbed Ben, really roughly. I stepped forward, and so did Maggie and most of the Second Mass." Anne adds; she stops to let out a small sigh.

"What?" Hal asks; he still continues to wear a frown on his face as he waits to learn of the situation that has Anne so greatly worried.

"There was a comment made by the army guys about Ben. I didn't hear it and neither did Weaver...But Maggie heard it." Anne informs him.

"What…I don't? What happened?" Hal asks her.

"Maggie punched one of the guards in the face. She broke his nose and then she, uh, she pulled out a knife from her boot and put it up against one of the army guy's neck. They slammed her down, pretty hard, and they took her away with Ben. They're both locked up and no one is allowed down there because Ben was talking about an offensive the aliens were planning. No one will listen to him." Anne tells him; she wears an expression of great concern on her features as she informs Hal of the situation.

Hal moves with Anne out into the cafeteria and as they do Hal spots Dai who nods at him.

"Be careful." Anne says, softly.

Anne knows what Hal is about to do. He's about to free Ben and Maggie because they shouldn't be down there.

"I will." Hal answers. "Can you look for my Dad? Tell him where we are?" Hal asks; as he speaks he begins moving towards Dai.

"Of course, Hal." Anne replies.

"Brother." Dai says; as he speaks he joins up with Hal. "You ready to break Ben and Maggie out?" Dai asks him.

Hal nods once and with a small smile he says, "Thanks, brother."

"Hey..." Hal begins; as he speaks he takes a step towards the single guard at the top of the stairs. "I'm just here to see Pope." Hal tells him; he says this because he knows that they would not be allowed down with the intention to see Maggie or Ben.

The guard watches Hal with suspicion but agrees that he may be allowed down. The guard walks down the stairs, behind Hal, and as Hal turns around he quickly overpower the guard and takes his gun from him. He smashes him in the head with his own weapon, knocking him out with it. Seconds later, Dai comes down the stairs after Hal.

Hal looks up, from where he kneels beside the body of the unconscious guard, to Maggie and Ben who he finds are in the same cell. Maggie's lip is slightly split and swollen while Ben has a puffy, black eye.

Hal asks, with a slightly angered tone towards the guards, "They did that to you?"

Maggie simply nods in response.

"So..." Hal begins; he stands as Dai unlocks Ben and Maggie's cell. "Tell me about the alien offensive, Ben." he says.

"Red-Eye wants to meet with Dad. It's going to be huge, Hal." Ben informs him.

Hal nods once as he turns his attention back towards Maggie. "You okay?" he asks her, as she steps out of her cell.

"You should say something to him." she whispers.

Hal nods, he turns his attention back to Maggie.

"What?" Hal asks; a small frown begins to form on his features.

Maggie sighs before she says, "Seriously, Hal, he's your brother. He was missing. And now he's back. You should say something."

"I don't really think know is the right time." Hal answers, quickly.

Maggie shrugs as she says, "Fine. But, we both know that there is never going to be a right time for that conversation."

"Since you're freeing them…" Pope calls out, loudly, from where he stands inhis cell.

He, and the Berserkers, had been caught trying to steal weapons.

Dai looks reluctantly at Hal, who turns towards Maggie.

"If the offensive is a trap we could use him." Maggie mutters.

Pope, who manages to hear what it is that Maggie says, calls out, "Exactly! You could use me. I'm a weapon of destruction. I'll kill anything that you want me to if you free me. I can shoot a skitters head off with a single bullet. You've seen it Mags-"

"Ok. Ok." Hal says; he turns towards Dai as he continues, "He's right. He's good at killing skitters." l

Maggie looks up towards the stairway to find Manchester coming down it, surrounded by soldiers, and behind him Tom, Weaver and Colonel Porter walk down.

Dai takes a step back from the newly unlocked cell which Pope has just stepped out of.

Hal moves so that he is standing protectively in front of Ben. He won't let them harm his brother again.

"You're not going near him." Hal warns them.

"We don't plan to." General Bressler, the head of the army, replies as Manchester is placed into a cell and locked inside.

Upon catching sight of Ben, Tom calls out, "Ben!"

There is such relief, and such happiness, in his voice and on his face as he rushes towards Ben and tightly embraces him. His boy is back. Ben came back to him.

"You had me scared." Tom admits; as he speaks he releases Ben from his arms.

Ben nods, once, with a half smile. "So everyone's been saying."

"Tell him, about the offensive, Ben." Hal says; as he speaks he turns so that he is looking at Ben. "Go on." he adds.

Ben looks up from Weaver to Colonel Porter, who have stepped forward, and then to Tom who speaks next.

"What offensive?" he asks; keeping his eyes on his son as he speaks.

"The rebel skitters are planning an offensive against the overlords. I'm just a messenger. They want to meet with you Dad, and with you." Ben says; as he speaks he indicates to Weaver, Colonel Porter and Bressler.

"They want to talk to you about tactics and plans. They didn't give me all of the information because if I had been caught…" Ben begins; he stops, however, as he meets Tom's gaze.

Tom knows what they'd do. They'd take the information from him and use it against him.

"They can't read your thoughts. So, that's why they want to meet with you." Ben adds.

"And, we're just supposed to take his word?" Bressler asks, a little cautiously.

Weaver nods quickly answers, "Yes, we are. It's the only chance we have."

"OK." Bressler nods. "Where and when do we meet them?" he questions.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm to lead you to them. They'll connect with me and inform me of their location." Ben answers.

"Okay." Bressler nods, again. "Captain Weaver, Colonel Porter, a word upstairs – we'll work out what men to bring, weapons." Bressler tells them and they both agree.

"Try and get some sleep, son." Weaver says; as he speaks he smiles reassuringly at Ben.

"Will do, Captain." Ben answers, smiling back at him.

"Well, as touching as this Mason family reunion was, I'm going-" Pope begins; as he speaks he begins to step away but he is stopped by the guards who had locked him up only a few hours earlier.

"Oh, come on." Pope says; he holds his hands up in the air to stop them.

"Captain, if you would put in a good word?" Pope calls out, loudly, after Weaver.

Weaver stops, and looks down to Pope. "Nothing good to say about you, Pope." Weaver adds.

Pope shakes his head, still with his arms raised in the air, before he says, "Well, that's not entirely true now, is it? I'm a good cook. And a hell of a fighter, you could need me tomorrow."

Bressler looks down to Weaver, who lets out a small sigh, and then he looks towards his men. "Let him walk."

* * *

"All done." Anne announces; she looks up to Maggie and smiles kindly at her.

She'd just finished checking, cleaning and bandaging Maggie's wounds which all appear to be healing very well.

"Thanks, Anne." Maggie answers; as she speaks she smiles back at Anne.

Maggie looks up towards Hal who she finds is sitting directly across the room from her. He had just finished being tended to by another Doctor, from Charleston, who had checked and cleaned his wounds.

Hal gets down from his seat and steps towards Maggie. As he moves towards her he begins to button up his shirt. Then, he pulls his jacket on over the top.

"How are you feeling, Edward?" Anne asks, casually, as Hal walks towards the two of them with a slight limp.

Hal smiles, widely, at this before he turns towards Maggie and asks, "You told her?"

"No...I didn't." Maggie answers. "I just told her to call you Edward." Maggie says; now, as she speaks, the grin appears on her face.

"You know..." Hal begins; as he speaks he follows Maggie as she moves towards the door. "You're not as funny as you think you are." he teases.

Maggie turns to face Hal once they are out of the hospital room and says, with a small smile, "That hurt, Hal Mason. That really hurt."

"Oh, really?" he asks; as he speaks he continues to wear the same grin on his face.

Hal stops walking and moves so that he is standing in front of Maggie. He leans down over her, slightly, as he suggests, "Well...I'm sure you could find some way for me to make it up to you?"

He stares down at her with those intoxicating hazel eyes of his, his enticing lips and that smile; the smile that drives her insane.

"Like what? Sucking my blood? Turning me into a vampire?" she teases. "No. I don't think so. Actually, I think that I'm going to practice my jokes." she adds.

"That's how you wanna play it?" Hal asks; he trails after Maggie as she begins to walk away.

Hal knows that Maggie has a shift now, in the kitchen, but he doesn't want her to go. He enjoys spending time with her and if he could he would spend all day, ever day, with her.

"Yeah, it is." she replies; still smiling as she speaks.

As they turn the corner and move towards the cafeteria they pass Tector, Dai and Boon.

"Hey, Eddie." Tector calls out. "How's it going?" he asks, casually.

"Yeah, Edward, my brother." Dai says; as he speaks a grin he cannot hide appears on his face.

Hal smiles as he shakes his head. "Really guys, it isn't funny." he says; but his smile says otherwise.

"Sorry, Ed." Tector says, as he begins to walk away.

"Yeah, sorry, Ed. See you around." Dai adds.

Hal hears Boon, as they walk away, say, "What's up with Ed?"

"You." Hal says, as he turns towards Maggie. "You are gonna pay." he tells her as he follows her towards the kitchen were she will be serving food.

Yeah, yeah." she smiles. "I'll see you later?" she asks.

Hal nods once before he says, "I'll find you after your shift."

Hal catches one last glimpse of Maggie smiling before he turns away.

* * *

When Ben slowly wakes from the sleep he had so easily fallen into he finds that Hal is also in his room, resting on his own bed but he isn't sleeping.

"You sleep ok?" Hal asks him.

Ben nods, as he answers, "Yeah, good."

Hal remains silent as he sits watching his brother for a moment. As he watches Ben he cannot help but replay Maggie's words in his mind. There never was and never will be a right time for _that_ conversation.

"Ben..." Hal begins; as he speaks he pulls himself up off of his bed.

Hal is suddenly grateful that Matt is out, having dinner with his Dad, and that there is no one else here.

"You know…" Hal sighs; he rubs the back of his neck. He walks a few feet towards Ben's bed and hesitates before he sits down in front of him. "That morning after I was shot…you, uh, you started to say something. And, I should have let you speak…" he mutters.

"It's okay." Ben answers.

But Hal knows that it's not okay. There are so many unspoken words between them and these unspoken words are killing both of them. They are destroying their once close relationship. They are brothers. Hal would die for Ben. He cares so deeply for him, more than Ben knows or realises. He's already lost Ben twice. He won't lose him again. He can't.

"I just...I don't want things to stay like this, Ben. Things between us..." Hal admits. He pauses before he asks, "You know what I mean?"

Ben simply nods once in response.

"You're my brother, my little brother, and I…" Hal begins but stops again.

He scratches the side of his head in an attempt to distract himself from his emotions. But he can't. They're too strong. And his mind begins replaying past memories of his childhood; watching Ben and Matt growing up before his eyes.

"You are…I took those bullets because I'd die for you." Hal says; as he speaks he uses all of his strength and self-control not to cry. "I'm sorry Ben…" he whispers; he lowers his eyes down to his hands and his voice cracks as he speaks.

Ben answers, "I'm sorry, for leaving, for-"

"No. Don't." Hal stops him. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Ben." Hal says; as he speaks he stands from the bed and paces back and forth before he stops and turns towards Ben who he finds is standing now.

"Come here." Hal mutters; he pulls Ben into a tight embrace.

They hug each other, tightly, clinging to the memories of their childhoods. Good memories, memories filled with love, happiness and laughter.

"I'll try harder, okay?" Hal says. "I'll try harder to understand…I just want to protect you." he admits.

Ben nods, as he whispers "I know."

Later that evening, after Matt had finished his dinner, Tom had left in search of Anne so that he could speak to her about how Hal was doing. On his way to bed he had decided that he would check in on Ben.

As Tom opens the door to the room, which his three sons are sharing, his eyes fall down to the three of them all fast asleep and squished together on the same double bed.

Matt sleeps in the middle, between Hal and Ben.

Tom smiles to himself; he steps forward and takes the blanket that had rested at the bottom of the bed and slowly covers the three of them with it. This image is so perfect, so peaceful. It's a flashback of when they were younger. If only things could stay like this, Tom thinks. He prays silently that things will stay like this, that they will stay safe and out of harms way. Tom prays that he will never lose any of his boys ever again.

* * *

Upon catching sight of Maggie moving past him, he calls out to her, "Hey."

She had been getting her weapons ready for the invasion and as she hears Hal calls out she looks up to him.

"Morning, Hal." she answers.

"Sorry that I didn't stop by after your shift. I was, uh, I talked to Ben…" Hal admits; he lowers his head slightly as he steps towards her.

Maggie nods slowly. "How'd that go?" she asks.

Hal does not hesitate to say, "Better than I thought."

A smile spreads onto his face as he tells her this.

"Good." Maggie says. She continues, with a smile, "Well, you better get your weapons ready. I'll need you to have my back out there. We all do."

"Yes ma'am." Hal answers, smiling back.

With Ben back and things sorted out between them, and with the hopes of an offensive against the aliens, for once Hal believes that things might be okay and that they might finally be able to push the overlords out. His hope is stronger now because of Maggie.

Fate threw him a favour in the form of Maggie and now he hopes that fate will throw him another favour and maybe they'll get rid of the aliens.

* * *

**A/N: I want to thank all of the people who have reviewed/read/favourited/followed my story, and the guests who I cannot thank personally! You guys have motivated me to keep on writing chapters for this story. Also, a big thanks to my awesome sister who reads these chapters BEFORE I put them on to help me and gives me critism/feedback/ideas.**

**Also, to the guest reader who suggested that I should write about Hal getting jealous of Maggie, it's going to happen! I agree, it will be good to see how he reacts to this situation and I promise it'll be in a future chapter :)! (Just for you). Yes, Maggie and Hal will still end up together but there is going to be a lot in their way, in future chapters.**

**Anyway, hope that you guys like this one.**

**Enjoy! Xo**


	12. You and I'll be safe

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

After Hal had gotten all of his guns and gear ready for the offensive, he'd found Tom standing down beside one of the trucks with Matt whose face was painted with such concern and fear.

"What's up?" Hal asks; as he speaks he moves towards Tom and Matt.

"Why do you have all these weapons if it's just a meeting?" Matt asks; the panic is clear in his voice.

"Calm down, Matt." Hal tells him; as he speaks he lifts his hand and then lowers it down so that it is resting onto Hal's shoulder. "It's just a meeting, Matt, I promise. The weapons are for protection. We're all gonna be fine, including Ben. I won't let anything happen to him or to Dad, ok? I promise you." Hal says; as he speaks he continues to watch Matt.

"OK." Matt nods; he finally believes that it is just a meeting.

"OK." Hal nods; as he speaks he takes a step back, away from Matt. "We're all coming back, I promise." he adds.

Soon, General Bressler gives the order for them to move out. The group that is leaving includes; Bressler, six of his own men, Captain Weaver, Colonel Porter, Tom, Hal, Ben, Maggie, Dai, Tector, Boon and Pope.

Seventeen in total. Eight leave in one truck and nine leave in another. They ride for a while, away from Charleston, and when Ben informs Tom and Weaver that the location is not far away they pull the cars over to the side of the road and proceed on foot.

They find themselves in unknown territory as Ben, who walks alone at the front of the group, leads the way. Hal, Tom and Maggie stay close by Ben's side as they are still wary of how the soldiers may treat him. The town that Ben leads them to is half bombed to hell while the other half is destroyed or burnt out. But, some buildings and walls stand despite all odds.

Charred remains of cars and buses are scattered throughout the town and Tom can almost imagine it's former occupants running for shelter or running for their lives.

Ben abruptly comes to a halt and ceases to walk any further. They all assume that it is because the skitters are arriving but Ben doesn't speak. He doesn't say a word. Instead, he closes his eyes.

"Ben?" Tom calls out; as he speaks he walks slowly towards his son.

Ben turns around slowly with his eyes now open. He casts a look towards Tom Mason as he says, "You humans will never learn, will you, Professor Mason?"

He sounds so emotionless, like a robot, as he speaks.

Tom frowns, deeply, as he asks, "Ben, what are you doing?"

With what appears to be a smile on his features, Ben states, "Now, Professor Mason, you will learn that you cannot win this fight just as you cannot win this war."

It is now, as those last words pass Ben's lips, that Tom realises this is not his son speaking. Now, he sees, the spikes on Ben's back are glowing.

Hal steps forward with an expression of such confusion on his face. "Ben. What the hell-" he begins.

"I believe, Hal Mason..." Ben begins.

Hal looks up, past Ben, towards the distance to see that only a few metres behind Ben that there are at least a dozen skitters approaching them and behind these skitters are two mechs.

"That the appropriate term is tick, tick, boom." Ben says.

And as those words are spoken, the first mech blast hits.

"Take cover! Get down!" Hal yells out, loudly.

When Hal look up at Ben, through the smoke that clears slowly, he finds that his brother isn't standing but instead his body is crumpled on the ground. His spikes aren't glowing, all the colour has disappeared from his cheeks, and his nose is bleeding.

He turns towards Tom, who had taken cover behind the same carcass of a car, and he exchanges the same look with his Dad; neither are willing to leave Ben behind.

"Come on." Tom says; he rushes forward towards Hal and Ben.

Maggie follows behind Tom and Hal, keeping watch and covering the two of them, as they pick up Ben's body and rush towards the edge of a burnt out building. It isn't a good hiding spot, they know that.

Maggie glances up to see Tector, Boon and Pope taking shelter behind a burnt out truck. Dai, Weaver and Colonel Porter have taken cover behind another burnt out car. Bressler, and his six army guys, maintain their ground and none move to take cover.

"Bressler! Take cover!" Weaver screams out. "You don't know what these things can do!" He adds.

Bressler shakes his head, keeping his eyes, and his gun, on the mechs, "There just metal – what-"

The next few seconds go in bright, flash flashes for all of them. The mechs open fire on Bressler and his men. Bressler just manages to duck behind a truck and two of his men make it with him. But the others have become crumpled heaps on the ground that they had stood on seconds earlier.

Tom looks towards Hal who he finds is breathing so heavily now and is almost at the point of shaking uncontrollably. Hal is reliving the pain of seeing those children being slaughtered by the mechs.

"It's ok." Tom whispers, trying to reassure him.

Hal nods once and continues to try to keep himself calm but he can't pretend that he is calm when he isn't, not in the slightest way.

"Hey." Maggie whispers; she leans in closer to Hal as she kneels beside him. "It's gonna be okay." she tells him. "I promise." she adds; as she speaks she lifts her left hand, the hand not securely on her gun, squeeze Hal's hand. "OK?" she asks.

Hal nods once and breathes out shakily. "OK." he repeats.

But it isn't going to be okay. It couldn't possibly be okay.

The Berserkers, and Dai, have the skitter situation somewhat under control. Six dead, six left. The mechs, however, they stand no chance against them.

"Don't do it." Tector whispers; he's warning Boon not to leave to go and get the car for them.

Weaver, who is only a few feet away, calls out, "You remain where you are, Boon. That's an order."

"I'm sorry, Captain." Boon calls back. "But I respectfully decline." he adds. He pauses before he calls out, "Cover me!"

Tector stands from behind the truck as Boon does and begins firing madly at the mechs to try and keep their attention on him and not on Boon. Pope stands with him and soon they are all firing at the mechs and skitters.

Tector takes cover behind the car again as he begins to reload his gun. As he looks up he sees Boon still running in the direction of the cars; he runs with his head down and his gun in his hands. He is completely unaware of the mech approaching him from the other direction.

"Damn it, Boon!" Tector screams out; quickly, he reloads his gun and begins firing at the mech coming from the opposite direction. "Come back, Boon!" he yells out.

"Run, Boon!" Maggie yells out; she leaves Hal and Tom with Ben and runs quickly towards the car that Tector is sheltering behind.

She continues firing her gun towards the mech. They need to get closer. These shots are doing nothing to the mech.

"Run!" Weaver yells out, loudly.

Pope, Dai and Colonel Porter continue to fire at the mechs coming from the other side.

They're in a fly trap – no, it's much more deadlier than a fly trap. They're stuck in a sharp, deadly bear trap that none of them are sure how to get out off without losing something or someone.

Boon stops at the sight of the mech; he begins running so very quickly back towards the truck and towards the others. His eyes are painted with such horror and desperation and it is something that none of them will ever be able to forget. As the mech fires at Boon, killing him instantly, Hal lets out a scream as he did the night that he watched the children being killed.

"Hal." Tom calls out, to Hal, but Hal doesn't hear him.

He's shocked. In a daze, where he cannot move or respond.

"Hal." Tom says again; he places his hand down onto Hal's shoulder.

Hal flinches and instantly pulls away from Tom. His heart slows down slightly after realising that it is only his father's hand.

"You're okay, Hal." Tom tells him, sadly.

Their saviour comes, now, in the form of Anthony and Lyle, iding in the back of one of their trucks with the machine gun filled with Pope's old mech killing bullets. When Pope was with Anthony he'd found some supplies and made one bullet. He fires the first bullet at the Mech, it falls down, instantly.

"Back to the vehicle!" Weaver orders.

Hal and Tom run towards the truck, with Ben over their shoulders. If they can make it back to Charleston, they'll all be ok. Weaver and Colonel Porter get into the front of the small truck, squishing together. There isn't much room. Tom and Hal pull Ben up into the back of the truck, as quickly and as carefully as they can. Hal looks over to Dai, who had run over to Boon's body, and is carrying it back to the truck.

Anthony, who had refilled the gun with normal bullets, continues firing at the skitters and mechs like a mad-man, probably something he'd picked up from spending time with Pope.

Bressler, and his two guys remaining, each carry a body of a fallen soldier. Dai carries the last body of the fallen soldier. Tom helps them to pull the bodies onto the back truck.

"Come on." Tom says, to Hal, who has not pulled himself up into the back of the truck.

Hal glances over towards Maggie, Pope and Tector who are still firing relentlessly at the mechs and skitters.

"They'll follow us back to Charleston and kill everyone." Hal says; as he speaks he steps back, away from the truck.

"Hal..." Tom calls out; he's almost yelling out to his son. "Hal." he calls out, again, with more desperation in his voice.

He won't lose his son. He can't lose his son.

"Hal, get in the truck." Tom pleads.

"Go back." Hal tells Tom, and Bressler. "Get more men, get more supplies, and come back. We can hold them off until then." he says.

Weaver, who had his head out of the car to listen, agrees.

"We need more than a couple of guns to take 'em down, we got that back at Charleston." Bressler says.

Crazy lee, the driver of the truck, starts it up.

Dai jumps down off the side of the truck to join Hal.

"I'm with you, brother," Dai says, with a smile.

Then, Dai rushes towards a burnt out car behind which he takes cover and begins firing at the skitters and mechs.

"No, no, I'm not leaving you-" Tom protests.

But the car's already started moving.

"I'll keep him safe." Maggie calls out, to Tom.

"You take care of Ben and then come back for me, okay?" Hal yells out, as the truck pulls out.

All that Tom can do as the truck pulls away is have faith that Hal will be safe.

Hal moves towards Dai and takes cover beside him. He counts that there are only five skitters left. But the mechs are coming closer, and faster.

The humming sound that the mechs make, the sound that makes Maggie's skin crawl, rings through the air and as it does she looks back to Hal with a clear emotion in her eyes for once; fear.

"When life hands you lemons..." Pope begins; as he speaks he continues to fie at the mechs. For a moment he takes cover and then he stands and continues firing. "You blow its freaking head off!" he yells, so loudly and so crazily.

A powerful force, dropped by the alien ships, shatters the buildings around them and it sends their hearts racing. The force separates them and leaves in it's wake a large crater in the ground.

A bomb, of some kind, is falling from the sky. Now, it seems that everything is on fire and everything is falling to pieces.

Then, four skitters come from behind them cornering them and pushing them in closer. But, Hal realises, that these skitters don't seem to notice or care about the humans. Their targets, are in fact, the other skitters and the mechs. They all take this as their chance to run towards the forest that is at least thirty metres away. They need to run towards shelter.

Hal meets up with Maggie, who was only a few feet away, and they run together from the car taking cover and firing at the mechs and skitters when needed.

"You ok?" he asks her.

"I've never been better." she answers.

Maggie is slower than she used to be, because of her damn limp, and so is Hal. They can't keep up with the others. They' are both falling behind and they know it.

Hal smiles as though he finds something amusing. He asks, loudly, "Why is it we're always looking after each other?"

"You're clumsy." Maggie replies, with a small smile.

The bombs fall, harder, and now the sky is on fire, it has to be. The heat is so strong that it feels as though it is burning their skin even though they aren't as close to it as they were before.

Hal looks up through the ash, fire and smoke to see Karen standing in front of him. She stands alone and smiles at him through the darkness. Maggie pulls out a knife, from her pocket, and holds it firmly in her left hand as she holds her gun in her right hand. She moves so that she is blocking Hal from Karen; protecting him.

Hal doesn't need protection from Karen but the fact that Maggie is willing to risk her life for him – that means so much to him. More than she will ever know.

"You're a weak human." Karen states. "What could you do to hurt me?" she asks; she continues to smile as though she finds the situation highly amusing.

It isn't Karen anymore, Hal thinks. He needs to get that through his mind. He needs to realise that the Karen he once cared for is long gone.

Maggie lifts her gun toward's Karen's head and shoots three times.

Karen moves, so quickly though, and from where she now stands behind Maggie she cruelly says, "One would think you would have learnt from our last encounter."

In one swift, unexpected movement Karen has Maggie by the throat, cutting of her air supply. She throws her to the side, like she weighs little more than a feather, into a nearby, large oak tree with such a strong force that her stitches on her stomach tear open, her burns ache and feel so raw and painful and her arm feels disconnected from her body.

A newly formed cut, above Maggie's right eye, causes blood to trickle down onto her face blurring the vision in her left eye.

Hal falls to Maggie's side and as he does so he forgets entirely about Karen standing behind him or the battle occurring not so far away.

"Maggie..." Hal begins; he softly rolls her over on her back. "No, no, no." he stutters. "Come on, Maggie. Come on." he pleads.

As he tries to stop the blood from pouring out of her stitches, with his right hand, he whispers, "Oh...God..."

In this moment, Hal is completely oblivious to his surroundings. He has forgotten about everything but Maggie.

"Maggie." he whispers; he gently rests his right hand against her cheek before he lifts it to her forehead and tries to wipe the blood away from her face. "Maggie." he repeats.

He lowers his head down so that it is resting against hers. Her eyes remain open, for now, as he whispers, "Maggie, I need you, okay? Come on, just stay awake. Stay with me."

"Maggie," He says, his hands resting gently on her cheeks, and wiping the blood away from her face.

But Maggie can't fight it. She can't stay awake. Despite how badly she is fighting to stay awake and to stay with Hal so that she may protect him she cannot because she can't fight the darkness.

As Hal leans over Maggie the red sky above him turns black and he is swallowed up by a strong, similar current of darkness that takes Maggie, and despite his best efforts, he cannot fight it.

* * *

**A/N: Just another thank you to all the people who are reading/following/favouriting and reviewing. And thanks to the guest reviews as well, the ones I can't thank personally! It means so much to know that people out there are enjoying my writing! So, thank you so much :) And I'll continue to update as long as you guys want me to.**

**More action will be coming, and more cliffhangers (sorry) and more twists and turns. Plus, a lot of cute bonding moments. Also, the Second Mass will be leaving Charleston (I won't say why/when) Because that place gives me the creeps!**

**P.s Dear Guest Reviewer, yes I think you should make an account so I don't have to refer to you as guest reader, Haha! I'm really excited to write about a jealous Hal. :)**

**Sorry for writing such a long A/N!**

**Enjoy :)**


	13. Don't look out the window

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Maggie stumbles, dazed and confused, through the trees in the forest she calls out desperately for Hal. She had woken with a pounding headache, and aching body, and had found herself covered in blood from her stitches which had been ripped open.

The last thing that she remembers seeing is Hal leaning over her telling her that he needed her. And she needed him, too. She needed him so badly. But she couldn't stay with him despite how hard she had fought to the darkness had swallowed her up again.

"Hal?" she calls out; her voice is so shaky that she almost doesn't recognise it as being her own.

Pope appears in front of her with Tector and Dai. Their faces are dirtied from ash, mud and blood.

"Hal?" She asks them, clearly distressed.

"He's not with you?" Dai asks; his tone is that of a greatly worried and saddened one.

They had managed to get away safely from the skitters and mechs and it was Pope's suggestion that they go back because no one gets left behind. But they had failed because Hal had been left behind.

Maggie sighs shakily. He bottom lip trembles as she runs her left hand over her face. She takes in a deep breath of air as she does this in an attempt to regain some composure.

"What are we waiting for?" Pope asks. "Let's go find Mason Junior." he adds.

Night is soon upon them and after hours of searching they find nothing but bloodied carcasses of skitters and the remains of mechs. The other two mechs, that they couldn't stop, have vanished.

Dai tells Maggie that the firing had ceased about half an hour ago and they had seen no sign of Tom or any of them men who were supposedly coming back for them.

"Look..." Dai begins; he begins to suggest that Hal may have gone back to Charleston. He may have found a way back.

Maggie is weakened, tired, and she's bleeding out quickly. She can barely walk. Hal is his brother but he doesn't think that they are going to have any luck in finding him tonight.

"No." Maggie says; she shakes her head as though she was able to read Dai's mind and she knows what he was going to say.

He was going to say they should stop for tonight, they should give up. Hal would never give up on her and she will never give up on him.

"No." she repeats. "Go back if you want but I'm staying out here until we find him." she adds.

Pope lets out a small sigh before he announces, "I'm staying."

"He'd look for us." Tector says.

"Alright." Dai answers.

Hal is like a brother to him and he'd never give up on him but they've checked these forests one hundred times over and one hundred times again and there is no sign of him at all.

"Over there." Pope says; he turns his head towards the left as he hears the sound of approaching feet and sees what he believes is the light of a flashlight.

"Hal?" Maggie calls out; she walks as fast as she can towards the light with absolutely no thought or concern to whether it was an alien or a skitter.

Maggie stops, almost dead in her tracks, at the flashlight hits her eyes. It isn't Hal.

She finds Captain Weaver, Colonel Porter, General Bressler, Tom and Anthony.

"Oh, thank god you're –" Tom begins but stops; he stops as he notices Hal's absence.

He looks directly at Maggie and finds that her eyes are empty. She appears disoriented, disheveled and injured.

"Where's Hal?" Tom asks; he tries his best to remain calm as he speaks.

"We, uh…" Maggie begins but she soon falls silent.

"We got separated." Pope mutters; he speaks for Maggie because she's almost entirely out of it.

Maggie scratches at the side of her head as she continues to keep her eyes down on the grass below her feet.

"Separated?" Tom asks; his voice cracks as he speaks.

He loses any previous control that he'd had over his emotions. He's lost another son. His boy, his firstborn, is gone.

Maggie sighs, "Tom, I'm so-"

"What? You're sorry?" Tom asks; he unintentionally cuts over Maggie. He continues, almost yelling at her. "You know - You said, you said that you'd protect him."

Tom cannot contain the anger that rises in his voice as he speaks. But he isn't angry at Maggie, he's angry at himself. But, right now, he can't see that. All he can see is Hal and all he can hear is Maggie saying that she'd protect him. That she'd keep him safe and she didn't.

All that Tom can see is another failure at protecting his children. Another son that he'd let down.

"Tom, I tried." Maggie says; her voice is incredibly unsteady as she speaks.

Tom shakes his head, slightly, as he replies, "But you didn't keep him safe? Did you?!"

"Tom." Weaver says, with a low tone; he steps in to attempt to calm Tom down.

"I did the best that I could, Tom." Maggie states; she lifts her gaze now to meet Tom's.

Tom shakes his head as he begins, "Well, you didn't do-"

"Enough, Mason." Pope warns; as he speaks he moves so that he is standing in front of Maggie protectively.

Weaver lets out a deep sigh before he begins, "Tom...We should..."

"No." Tom says, quickly. "I'm not leaving. Not until I find him." he adds.

"I'll head back to base and get some more men. Then, we'll find your boy." Bressler announces.

"I'm not leaving, no. Not until I find him," Tom says, looking back at Weaver, Colonel Porter, Bressler and Anthony.

"Thank you." Tom says, with a small, effortless and unconvincing smile.

"I think that I speak on behalf of all of us here when I say we'll search until we find him." Weaver says; he glances around the group of people before him as he speaks.

Hal is important to all here, maybe with the exception of Pope, in different ways.

Pope can, in some small way, understand the distress that Tom is facing. He'd stopped himself from saying to Tom to put his son's on leashes so he wouldn't lose them and he'd remained quiet. Now, he figured, was not the time or place to say such things.

"We need to move, fast." Colonel Porter says. "Sun will be rising in a few hours and when the morning light hits we'll be sitting ducks to any aliens left in the area." He adds.

They search for hours upon hours until the morning light rises in the sky. As this light rises, they have still found no sign and no trace of Hal who has seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Maggie, who had only recently gained hope because of Hal Mason, has none left at this point. Hal was her hope and now he is gone she has nothing left.

They've searched as much land as they can and still there is no trace of him. No sign, no blood, no body.

After a heated conversation with Weaver, Tom is eventually convinced to go back to Charleston, to get some rest, some food, to check on Ben, and then they will send out scouts on bikes and cars. He reassured Tom that they will find Hal and he will be okay and that they will bring him back safely.

But, no one is ever safe in this world. Tom knows that now. He's just always tried to believe that there was still hope; that there was still some small amount of safety in this world. But there isn't.

What part of Tom's heart that isn't broken already, from the loss of so many great people and all the pain he has faced, shatters now when he returns to Charleston and is greeted by Matt who is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his father and brother; he talks so fast about Ben being back that Tom only manages to catch a few words.

"Matt…" Tom begins; he pauses before trailing off.

He has no idea how he is supposed to tell his nine-year old son that his brother is missing, gone, and that they might not ever see him again and that he could be dead, or worse, dying somewhere alone and scared.

So, he decides that he will tell Matt and Ben together.

"Why don't we go visit Ben?" Tom suggests.

Matt frowns, slightly, as he notices Hal's absence.

"Where's Hal?" Matt asks; as he speaks he looks up to his father.

Tom sighs before he says, "I, uh…let's go see your brother-"

"Where's Hal?" Matt asks, again.

"Ok. Matt…Hal, uh, we go separated, we came under really heavy fire. There were so many skitter…and mechs…" Tom says; as he speaks his voice softens greatly.

That's no excuse, Tom thinks. He shouldn't have left. He should never have left Hal.

Tom continues, with a much lower voice, "We got separated, Hal and I…and he..We can't find him. He's gone, but I promise you were going to find him-"

"He promised." Matt says; he takes a step back, away from his father, shaking his head.

"Matt…" Tom says; he steps forward and reaches out for his son.

"He promised." Matt repeats; he's almost crying now.

"I know, he promised. And we both know that Hal keeps his promises. Don't we?" Tom asks; as he speaks he kneels down in front of Matt and continues, "Hal always keeps his promises, doesn't he?

Matt nods, slowly, "Yeah..."

"That's how I know he's going to come back to us," Tom says; he pulls Matt as close to him as he possibly can before he presses a kiss to his forehead. "We'll find him. I promise." Tom whispers.

When Ben wakes with no memories of where he is and how he came to be her he sits up and looks around the unfamiliar room. He begins to panic greatly until Anne steps through the door with a small smile on her face.

"It's good to see you." she tells him, kindly.

"What…how…" Ben begins; he stops, briefly, as he closes his eyes to try and remember but the last thing he remembers is saying goodbye to his father.

Tom steps through the door next, just as Ben was thinking of him.

"Dad…" Ben begins; he stops and rubs at his forehead. "I don't-I don't remember anything, Where are we?" he asks; the panic in his voice is painfully clear for Tom to hear.

"We're in Charleston, Ben." Tom answers, slowly.

Tom's trying to control his emotions: confusion, anger, fear, and sadness. But he's finding it extremely difficult and finds that he might break.

Ben begins, softly, "How…"

"You found us, Ben. You came back…" Tom tells him.

"I don't remember anything…" Ben says; he breathes inwards and closes his eyes for a moment. When he reopens them, Tom looks somewhat frightened, or scared. "What happened?" Ben asks, sensing that something is wrong.

"You were…uh, you were controlled, Ben. By the overlord." Tom tells him. "They must have found you because you were completely controlled – they had us all fooled, Ben…" he adds.

"Dad, it's me." Ben says; he cuts his Dad off, quickly. "You have to believe me Dad, it's me, it's Ben." he tells him.

Tom nods, quickly. "I know. I know, Ben. I know my own son." he answers, softly.

Tom sighs deeply before he pauses. Finally, he says the words that he does not want to admit to himself or to his son's. "Hal is gone." he says.

"What?" Ben asks; as he speaks his frown deepens and his heart begins pounding heavily in his chest.

"The overlords, when you were controlled…they led us into a trap and we bought it. Hal was separated. And, he's gone. We can't find him anywhere,and I… I just…" Tom stops; he lets out a small sigh as he drops his head into his hands.

"It's my fault." Ben mutters.

"No." Tom says; as he speaks his head quickly snaps upwards. "No. No. Absolutely not. Don't you dare think that, Ben." Tom says; he gets angrier with each word but not angry with Ben but with the aliens for doing this to his son.

"This is their fault, not yours, Ben. Don't you believe that for one second. You hear me?" Tom asks; as he speaks he moves closer towards Ben and rests his hands on his son's cheeks.

"Do you hear me, Ben? Tom asks. "Do not blame yourself. You know, in your heart, that this is not your fault." Tom tells him.

Ben nods, once. "OK, Dad." he mutters.

"We are going to find Hal. I promise. He's going to come back to us." Tom whispers; with those words he pulls Ben tightly into an embrace and wraps his arms around his son.

"Ok, Dad." Ben repeats.

* * *

As Tom steps inside the doorway of Maggie's bedroom he finds her sitting on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands, rocking ever so slightly.

"Maggie." Tom says; he pauses to clear his throat before he asks, "Can I have a word?"

Maggie looks up at Tom and nods. "What do want?" she asks him. "I don't need an apology, Tom. You're right. Hal is my partner and I should have protected him. It's my fault." she adds; as she speaks she is careful to avoid Tom's eye contact at all costs.

As Maggie stares down at the floor beneath her feet she thinks of what she would give for Hal to be with her right now. To find him watching her with those damn hazel eyes.

"You're wrong." Tom begins. "And so was I. It wasn't your fault or mine. It's the aliens fault. There was nothing we could have done. We came under heavy fire and then we left you..." Tom says; his voice lowers significantly as he speaks.

"Yeah...Well, I don't need the pep talk, Tom, about how it wasn't my fault because it was." Maggie replies, quickly. "Hal would die before he left one of us behind and I left him behind. Now, he's out there alone or injured or worse, he's dead. And we're in here trying to make ourselves feel better by convincing ourselves there was nothing we could do." she says; her voice rises slightly as she speaks and she mostly avoids Tom's gaze.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better, Maggie. And I'm sure as hell not trying to make myself feel better – I'm just speaking the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you." Tom tells her.

Maggie nods once before she replies, "I choose not to."

Maggie keeps her eyes glued to a spot on the floor for quite some time and when she finally does look up she finds that Tom is gone and she is completely alone, again.

* * *

As Anne joins Tom in their bedroom, she smiles softly and says, "How are you doing?"

"OK." Tom answers; his voice is as low as his hope as he speaks.

"We'll get Hal back, Tom. I promise you." Anne says; as she speaks she joins him on the end of the bed where he is sitting. "You just have to have faith. I know it's hard but we both know that Hal will make his way back to you and to his brothers." Anne says; as she speaks she rests a gentle hand on Tom's shoulder.

Tom nods, slowly, before he releases a small sigh.

"He will come back." Anne tells him.

Hal will come back, Anne tells herself silently, he has to come back.

* * *

As Anne knocks on the door of the room that she was told Maggie was in, she calls out, "Maggie."

She waits another moment before Tector opens the door looking pale, weak and tired.

"Is Maggie in here?" Anne asks; as she speaks she tries not to stare at his red, puffy eyes.

Tector nods and simply steps back, allowing Anne to step inside the room. This is the room that Tector and Boon had shared and now it is filled with Pope, Maggie, Lyle and Crazy Lee. Anne walks a few feet towards the bed that she sees Maggie sitting on, next to Pope who has just passed her a bottle of whiskey. God knows how they got their hands on that, Anne thinks.

"Maggie, can I have a word?" Anne asks.

Maggie nods once before she takes a large, long sip of the whiskey. She passes the bottle back to Pope before she stands from the bed and stumbles, a little to the left, on her slightly unsteady legs. Quickly, she regains her stance and follows Anne towards the door.

"What do you want, Anne?" Maggie asks; she cuts straight to the reason behind Anne being here.

"You shouldn't be drinking, Maggie, not with the medication you're on." Anne tells her; as she speaks she watches Maggie with a concerned, motherly expression on her face.

"Thanks, for that, Anne. But really, it's none of your concern." Maggie says, sharply.

"Maggie..." Anne begins. "I know that you have lost hope, about Hal, but they'll find him." Anne adds; she's trying to reassure Maggie and give her some sense of hope.

"What do you want, Anne?" Maggie repeats; she briefly glances down to her boots before she lifts her gaze back to Anne's eyes.

Anne lets out a small sigh before she pushes back her long, brown hair behind her ears. "They're holding a small service, and burial, for Boon, Chad, Tyler, Ryan and Eric." Anne tells her.

Chad, Tyler, Ryan and Eric are the names of the four soldiers who were killed by the Mech.

Maggie nods, lowering her gaze as she does. She thinks that they might as well add Hal's name to the list because he just disappeared into the air. There is nothing left of him, no trace. And, if he's not dead, he's dying or worse – the aliens have him but that seems the less likely as the aliens that they were fighting didn't seem interested in taking prisoners.

Maggie wants to have hope. She needs to have hope that Hal will come back to her but there is a dark feeling inside of her that believes that he won't come back to her.

Anne can barely hear Maggie, as she replies, "OK."

"Do you want me to tell them?" Anne asks; referring to Tector and the Berserkers.

Maggie simply shakes her head. "What time?" She asks.

"One hour." Anne answers.

"Maggie, I-" Anne begins but Maggie doesn't want to hear it and so she speaks over her.

There is nothing she, or anyone else, could say that would change her mind about feeling responsible for Hal being gone and there is nothing anyone could say that could help numb the pain or bring Hal back home.

"Don't, Anne." Maggie shakes her head; as she speaks she steps back towards the bed. "Go." she tells her, "You don't belong here." she says, loudly.

"Neither do you." Anne replies; as she speaks she watches her with the same concern that Hal once did.

Those aren't Hal's eyes, though, and she'll probably never see his eyes again.

When the darkness surrounded Maggie, and almost swallowed her up to the point of suffocation, Hal was her beacon of light flickering in the distance. And as long as she could see that light she had the hope that she could be a better person and live a better life with Hal. He helped her to breathe easy again; he helped to numb the pain.

But that beacon is gone, it's fire no longer lit. There is nothing left.

"That's where you're wrong, Anne." Maggie replies, so loudly. "This is exactly where I belong." she states.

"Atta girl!" Pope calls out, with a smirk on his face, from where he stands behind Maggie.

He's drunker than all of them, and slurs as he speaks. "Welcome home." He adds.

"Maggie…" Anne begins; she steps towards Maggie as she speaks.

"Go." Maggie tells her; this time she speaks with more force and more darkness behind her words.

Anne, reluctantly, leaves Maggie and looks for Captain Weaver. She finds him exiting the cafeteria walking beside Colonel Porter.

"May I have a word, Captain Weaver?" Anne asks Weaver, breaking his conversation with Colonel Porter.

Colonel Porter smiles at her. "Sure." he says. I was about to go check in on Bressler." he adds.

"How may I be of assistance, Doctor Glass?" Weaver asks; as he speaks he steps towards Anne.

"The security in Charleston is great, I know. That's why I think that you we should put one of our guys near the medical supplies." Anne says; she speaks with a hushed, lowered tone.

Anne doesn't want Maggie to get into trouble. She's concerned for her and doesn't want her to make any mistakes.

"And, why would I do that, Doctor Glass?" Weaver asks; he is clearly more than slightly puzzled.

He's puzzled as to why they would need more security on the medical supplies.

"The Berserkers are, well – they've got whiskey, and they're-" Anne begins.

"You're worried their going to steal something for their personal use?" Weaver asks.

Anne nods. Her voice is still low as she says, "And that's why if we put one of our guys on watch we can make sure they don't. If they did, there would be less serious consequences."

"Why would I want to see those Berserkers receive 'less serious' consequences?" He questions; a frown falls onto his features as he speaks.

"Maggie's with them, Captain, and she's not in a good place." Anne tells him; as she finishes speaking she lets out a small sigh.

"I'll see what I can do." Weaver says, speaking finally.

With a small smile Anne says, "Thank you."

* * *

**A/N: A big thank you to the reviewers, readers, favouriters and followers. Knowing that you are enjoying my writing and my ideas means so much to me, so thank you very much.**

**Enjoy :)**


	14. Darling, everything's on fire

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The burial of Boon, Chad, Tyler, Ryan and Eric is held outside. Not all inside Charleston leave for the burial but those who do light candles and support each other in this time of grief. For the people of Charleston, these are their first casualties to the alien war. For the Second Mass, however, it is different. These are not their first causalities.

The memories of those in the Second Mass who have lost their lives, painfully, replays in the minds of all in the Second Mass.

The bodies, which have been cleaned, dressed, and taken care of, are lowered down gently into five graves that had been dug, not long ago, by several members of the army.

Those who wish to step forward and take a handful of dirt to sprinkle onto the graves.

Maggie walks slowly, alone, and takes a large handful of dirt which she releases as she walks past the graves, letting the dirt fall into the grave of each fallen comrade.

When the bodies are buried, Bressler had insisted that a formal speech be read, not a personal one about each as they must return back to safety as soon as is possible.

The bodies are buried in dirt and covered with wreaths of green yellow and purple flowers. A single white cross marks each grave.

After the burial most of the Second Mass remains outside, near Boon's grave, despite the General's orders.

"Captain Weaver, I gave an order. Everyone back inside, now." Bressler tells him.

Weaver sighs as he looks towards Tom and then to Colonel Porter.

"With all due respect, General, – we'd like a moment to honour our fallen friend." Weaver says; as he speaks he shifts his gaze back towards Bressler.

Bressler stops, hesitating for a moment, and then nods. He says, loudly, "Five minutes."

Bressler, and his men, leave the Second Mass alone for their five minutes. They all stand there, for a moment, not quite sure what to say.

"Five minutes does not give us a lot of time to say good bye – to honour our friend, our comrade. Boon was a good, honest man and one hell of a fighter. And he died for us. Boon did not die as an outcast, in a gang – no, he died a fighter, a soldier for the Second Mass-" Weaver says; he speaks with a voice softer than usual.

"I have something-" Tector mutters. "I have something I'd like you to read," he adds.

Tector walks up towards Weaver slowly and passes him a scrap of dirty, torn paper. "Boon's – they read it at his Pop's…" Tector mutters; as he finishes speaking he steps back into line beside Pope and Maggie.

Weaver coughs, once, to clear his throat before he reads the words from the paper.

_"Under the wide and starry sky  
Dig the grave and let me lie:  
Glad did I live and gladly die,  
And I laid me down with a will._

_This be the verse you grave for me:  
Here he lies where he long'd to be;  
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,  
And the hunter home from the hill."_

* * *

As Maggie walks, slowly, back down towards Charleston she lets out a small sigh upon hearing Pope's echoing voice behind her.

"You know what you're feeling, right now..." he begins. "That dark and hollow emptiness?" he says; almost whispering. "I know how to make it all go away, Mags." he tells her; as he speaks he moves so that he is standing behind her and he continues to walk, backwards albeit, with her.

"How is that?" she asks; she is careful to direct her gaze away from Pope's as she speaks.

"They've got a whole pharmacy down there, in med, I'm almost certain there's something down there to numb the pain…" Pope tells her.

Maggie stops walking, abruptly, as she says, "You just want to get high. And you want me to take the fall."

"Don't you want to get high, Mags?" Pope asks; he tilts his head slightly to the side before he continues, "Don't you want to stop the pain. Don't you want to feel numb?"

He is almost taunting her as he continues, "Don't you remember what it was like to feel absolutely nothing?"

He pauses before he whispers, in her ear, "It's in your blood. It's in your veins. It's who you are."

These words fool Maggie. She truly believes that it is who she is and all she is ever going to be. All those months spent away from Pope, months spent with Hal, becoming a better person seem to all float away. In her moment of desperation, and loneliness, and a longing to be with Hal, she falls for Pope's words and he knows by her silence that she has.

As Maggie enters the med room she walks slowly, keeping a look out for any security or any doctors. Most of the doctors seem to be out leaving only a few patients who aren't paying any attention to her anyway. Maggie looks to her right and sees Dai in the corner of the room.

As she continues walking she notices the Dai begins to follow her, walking a few feet behind her.

When Maggie stops walking so does Dai. She tries this once more and he stops as she does. So, she quickly spins around and asks, sharply, "What are you doing?"

"What are you doing, Maggie?" Dai asks; as he speaks he watches her with both curiosity and suspicion.

"I'm looking for Anne." she tells him. "I need a refill on my meds." she adds.

Dai knows that Maggie is lying because he had been told by Anne that Maggie wasn't in need of a refill yet. He'd also been told that the Berserkers might come looking for some medication for their own personal use but he hadn't expected Maggie to come.

Dai shakes his head before he says, "No, you're not looking for Anne. And, no you don't need a refill. I know what you're after and you're not touching that med cabinet. Hal wouldn't-

"Hal wouldn't what?" Maggie asks, sharply. "Hal's not here, Dai. He's gone." she says.

"Yeah, he's gone right now." Dai replies. "And you're wasting time, Maggie. Your wasting time drinking and trying to get high when you should be out there looking for him – I'm wasting my time babysitting you." he adds.

Hal is like a brother to him and he knows how close Hal and Maggie are. Dai knows that in Hal's absence Hal would want Dai to take care of Maggie and keep an eye out on her.

But Maggie doesn't need taking care of, she's made that clear from the start. Well, that was until she met Hal and it felt good knowing that someone had her back for once. It felt good not always having to look over her shoulder.

That's all dead and gone tonight, though. Hal is gone. Any feelings of security have vanished. And the slightest feeling of safety Maggie had felt is gone now.

Maggie's brown eyes, filled with a deep sorrow, regret, and pain, fall down to the floor and she stares at it like she's in a daze or in a dream and for a second she forgets Dai's in the room.

When she comes back into her painful reality, she finds that Dai is still watching her.

"You're right." she says; she steps past Dai as she speaks.

"About what?" Dai asks; he follows after Maggie.

With hope in her voice she says, "I'm going to find Hal."

She won't give up until she finds Hal. She can't give up. He means too much to her and she knows that he would never give up on her or let her go.

**Two months later.**

Two months have passed them by so very quickly but so very painfully. Despite frequent scouts and missions by Tom, Ben, Maggie and The Berserkers, and a few checks by six soldiers from Charleston, no trace of Hal has been found.

The afternoon is a cold, icy one despite the sun which shines down on Maggie, Dai, Tector and Anthony. They're holding onto a tiny beacon of hope now, the hope that they may find Hal alive. Eight weeks is a long time. Too long, Maggie knows this and Tom knows this too.

Hal is a fighter and he would have made his way back to Charleston hail, rain or shine. He would have come back if he was out there. But he hasn't come back and it's eating away at Maggie.

It's corroding her insides, her heart, her mind and her hope.

It is, by chance, that they happen to pull their truck over. Maggie, who has been feeling off for the past weeks, gets Anthony to stop the car. She gets out of the car and takes a few steps away from it before she closes her eyes and tries to breathe in as much fresh air as she can. When her eyes open again she finds Dai by her side. He'd come to check if she was okay.

But, she doesn't hear him, she can't her him. Not when she has just spotted a skitter, through the shrubbery and trees. She sees a skitter with a group of harnessed children.

Maggie gasps and tightly covers her mouth so to stop herself from screaming out. Despite the harness that is now attached to his back, and the emptiness in his eyes, she knows it is him.

He's still wearing the same black shirt that she remembers from the night of the ambush. He moves stiffly, like a robot, like he's suffering so much pain. He walks with a limp still. His arms, which are stained with blood, bruises and dirt are much thinner than she remembers them being.

His hands are still covered with the same finger-less gloves that he always wears. Around his neck, Maggie can see the flicker of the silver Saint Jude Pendant.

A long, thin cut runs underneath his right eye; the eye which is shadowed with black and purple bruises. A second cut, a deeper cut, travels down his left cheek and down across his jawline.

Despite these new wounds, Maggie recognises that the figure covered in blood and picking up scrap metal is Hal Mason.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for all the support/reviews/favourites/followers. It seriously means so much! And also a thanks to my sister, who listens to me talk for hours on end about possibilities and all of my ideas for this story.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one.**

**And, please, let me know what you think of this chapter.**

**Thanks & Enjoy. :)**


	15. The raging war outside

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Maggie turns towards Dai to find that his eyes are filled with such horror; the same horror that Maggie also wears in her own eyes. Dai pauses before he slowly lifts his right hand and extends it back to Anthony and Tector, motioning for them to stop their noise and their movement.

Dai nods once at Maggie, indicating that they will get Hal, before he slowly gestures with his head back towards the truck. They need more weapons, more men and a plan. Maggie understands this. She understands that they don't have many men or many weapons and they don't have a solid plan but Maggie won't agree to leave. She won't let the aliens hurt Hal for another day, hour or another minute.

Dai takes a step forward, towards Maggie, before he whispers, "We need a plan, Maggie."

Maggie replies, quickly, also whispering, "And we've got one. You cover me while I get Hal outta here."

Dai shakes his head and pauses before he replies, "We don't have enough support or enough weapons. It's too risky."

From what they can see there are only two skitters but it could turn into an ambush like last time.

Maggie won't hear it, though. She doesn't care that they don't have enough weapons, enough support or enough fighters. They've found Hal finally and Maggie has no intention to leave without him.

Maggie sighs, softly, before she answers, "I'm not leaving him behind behind. He wouldn't leave without us."

"If we go straight out there, in broad daylight, we're all dead." Dai says, honestly. He pauses before he lets out a small sigh and continues, "But it's Hal and I'm willing to take the risk if you are."

Maggie nods, once. She doesn't have to think about her answer for even a second. She would never leave Hal behind.

The plan that they form, in just over thirty seconds, is one where Maggie and Dai will get Hal out of there. Tector will cover them and Anthony will stay back in the truck ready to drive as fast as they can back towards Charleston.

They can see no mechs with this group and can only assume that none are close by. They see only two skitters with the several harnessed children. Hal is, by far, the eldest of the group and looms down over all of the other harnessed children.

Any concern for her own safety or for her own life had disappeared the very second that Maggie had seen Hal.

Now, as she runs in broad daylight out of the bushes and towards Hal and the harnessed children and skitters, Maggie feels no fear.

She doesn't fear the skitters or the harnessed children. She doesn't fear death, either. Hal's family needs him. She needs him. Maggie will get him back home, wherever that is, even if it means risking herself to do so.

It all happens in a rush, a quick paced blur. First, she's firing at the skitters and so are Tector and Dai. They have her back and each-others backs, just as she always has theirs.

As Maggie finally reaches Hal she tries to take his hand so that she may pull him back to safety. But he doesn't answer he. He doesn't seem to recognise her either. Maggie isn't entirely sure that he'd blinked upon noticing her.

"Hal." Maggie begins. "Come on." she says; her voice is filled with desperation as she speaks because they are running out of time.

"Hal." Maggie repeats; he still won't move or speak to her.

Hal's hazel eyes are empty; there is nothing in them. No flashes or recognition or hope and no life. His grip on Maggie's hand tightens like he is attempting to pull her towards the skitters.

Dai, quickly, comes up behind Hal and with his gun raised in the air he lowers it down so hard that it hits Hal in the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

Upon noticing Maggie's slightly angered expression, Dai says, "Sorry, but we need to go now!"

As she and Dai bend down to pick up Hal's limp body, Maggie glances up at Dai to find that he is bleeding. With a more concerned expression on her features she says, "Dai, you're bleeding."

"Little scratch." Dai replies, with a grin.

As Maggie looks up, only a few feet away, she finds another harnessed child whom she recognises immediately by his brown eyes. It's Pope's boy, Benjamin.

"Tector!" Maggie yells out. Her voice is slightly shaky as she says, "Tector, grab him!"

Tector nods and quickly picks up the eight year old before he throws him over his shoulder and moves towards the truck. They all move towards the truck with their backs turned towards the skitters. Tector keeps them safe with his continual firing at the skitters.

Maggie makes a mental note to thank Tector, Dai and Anthony later.

On their way back to Charleston, Maggie sits in the back of the truck with Hal, Dai, Tector and Benjamin. Anthony drives as fast as he can back towards Charleston while Tector keeps his eyes stuck firmly on the road to make sure they aren't followed and they aren't.

Maggie wouldn't have noticed if they were being followed because the only thing that she can see, and all that she can think about, is Hal and the harness that is attached to his back.

All that she can think and hear are Tom's words about how she should have protected him better. She should have kept him safe like she promised that she would. It is her fault, Maggie believes. It is her fault that Hal is not safe.

* * *

"They're not coming through. Not with those _things_ attached." One of Bressler's soldiers repeats, for the fifth time.

He, and the other soldiers, are determined not to move to allow the group that has returned through.

Tector and Dai, who are holding Hal's limp body up, had tried to reason with them but they wouldn't listen. Then Anthony, who had been holding a slightly restless and deeply confused Benjamin, had tried to but they wouldn't listen to him either so now it was Maggie's turn.

As Maggie takes a step forwards she begins, slowly so that they will hear her words clearly and she will not have to repeat herself, "You've got two options here. Your first one is you let us through and nobody gets hurt. The second one is you don't let us through, and I'll shove this rifle so far up your-"

"What's going on here?" Colonel Porter asks; as he speaks he steps through past the crowd and towards the soldiers.

Weaver, who had been walking behind him, steps out to the side and as he does his face nearly turns white at the sight of Hal with the harness attached to his back.

"Go through. Right away." Weaver tells them, quickly.

The same solider, who hadn't wanted to let them through, speaks up. "General Bressler's orders-"

"I don't give a damn about General Bressler's orders!" Colonel Porter says, nearly shouting. "Let them through." he adds.

The soldiers nod once before the step to the side and clear the path for Tector and Dai. Maggie follows behind them with her rifle firmly in her hand; she isn't going to let anyone hurt Hal again.

As they move towards the medical rooms, they catch many looks and many strange glances towards Hal and the little boy in Anthony's arms.

Maggie has already decided that she isn't going to let any of the Doctors, but Anne and Lourdes, touch Hal. They don't know how to get the harness off of Hal without killing him. They don't know how to properly tend to him like Lourdes and Anne do.

Tom, who has only just stepped out of his bedroom with Ben and Matt by his side, almost freezes entirely as he sees Hal. His heart stops in his chest as he sets his eyes down onto the harnessed attached to Hal's back.

"Hal!" Matt calls out, so very loudly; as he calls out to Hal, Matt pulls away from Tom and begins running towards Hal.

Ben rushes after Ben and stops him. "It's okay. It's okay." Ben tells him; he keeps his arms securely around Matt's chest as he whispers, "Hal's okay. He's okay."

Ben holds Matt in his arms as Tector and Dai pass them, carrying Hal's body towards the med rooms. Matt doesn't need to see this. He doesn't need to see Hal like this and so Tom speaks.

"Stay here." Tom tells Ben and Matt.

Ben nods silently and watches helplessly as Tom chases after Hal. He only hopes that his brother, and his father, have the strength to survive this.

As Tom catches up to Maggie, he stutters, "Where-Where did you-you find him?"

Maggie doesn't answer Tom. She doesn't notice his presence because she's not in the right head space. She only sees Hal. She sees nothing but Hal and how it is all her fault.

When Maggie fails to speak, Anthony answers, "Factory. Half an hour north."

As they move into the medical rooms, and Anne catches sight of them, Tector and Dai are directed by Anne to lay Hal down onto the first empty bed and to place him down so that he is resting on his chest. Then, Anne instructs Anthony to lay the child onto the bed next to Hal's and to also place him down so that he is lying on his chest.

"We need to get them on a drip of morphine." Anne says, loudly; as she speaks she uses a pair of scissors to cut the shirt of Hal's back open. "And we need a blow torch." she adds.

Lourdes also uses a pair of scissors to cut the shirt of Benjamin's back but as he continues to struggle Anne suggests that the may have to sedate him.

Quickly, Anne pulls the curtains across Hal and Benjamin to stop those from Charleston staring.

Anne is halfway through cutting of Hal's shirt when a dozen soldiers enter the room, with General Bressler at the front. They pull back the curtains and as they do each solider firmly holds a rifle in their hands. Their targets are Hal and Benjamin and the harnesses on their backs.

Bressler loudly states, "They should not be here."

Without hesitation, Tom steps forward and replies, "He's my son."

"Yes." Bressler nods. "I am well aware of that. I am also aware of that leech on his back. Take him out of here and the boy as well." he says; ordering two of his soldiers to carry the boys out of here.

As the soldiers step forward, Tom also steps forward. Tom has no weapons to stop them from touching his boy but that won't stop him because nothing can stop him from protecting his son's.

"You're not touching them." Tom says, confidently.

"You have no say here, Professor." Bressler declares.

"General Bressler..." Captain Weaver begins. As he steps forward he continues, "Despite what they have done to him, Hal is Tom's son. And, uh, forgive me for saying but you have no say here, General."

As he finishes speaking, Captain Weaver takes a stand beside Tom and in front of Hal.

"Stand down, Captain Weaver." Bressler orders.

But still, Captain Weaver does not move and he has no intention of doing so.

"That's an order, Captain." Bressler informs him.

"With all due respect, General Bressler." Colonel Porter begins; as he speaks he moves so that he is standing on the other side of Tom Mason. "Two innocent young lives are at stake here. And we are wasting precious time arguing." he adds.

Bressler remains still and silent and shows no emotion whatsoever as he silently contemplates the situation.

"You can get that thing off?" Bressler asks; as he speaks he glances towards Anne.

She nods once before she replies, "I'll need two morphine drips and a blow torch."

Bressler glances from Colonel Porter to Captain Weaver and then to Tom.

"We can get you the blow torch. Get the leeches off, destroy them – and then I'll consider letting them stay," Bressler says, finally.

His men leave the room as he does and Colonel Porter follows to ensure that Bressler does not make any rash decisions or secret orders.

As Anne removes the shirt completely from Hal's back she becomes visibly paler and takes a slight step back. Tom does not understand why she appears visibly shocked, nor does Maggie, until their eyes slowly follow Anne's.

Mirrored on both of Hal's shoulders, on the outside of the harnessed, are two thick, deep, bloodied cuts. They look so very deep and could be infected.

Anne cannot think about these wounds right now because first she must focus on removing the harness from Hal and Benjamin's back and then she will take a look at their other wounds and treat them. Lourdes and Anne connect the morphine drips to Hal and Benjamin and decide that they will remove Hal's harness first; they do not decide this because Hal is more important to them but because his harness is significantly bigger than Benjamin's.

Hal remains unconscious from the hit to the back of his head as the soldiers quickly return with the blow torch. Anne sets it up beside Hal's bedside and looks up to those left in the room. She finds that Tom, Captain Weaver, Tector, Anthony, Lourdes and Dai remain.

Anne steps past them so that she may close the curtains, to keep those from Charleston out of their conversation, before she speaks.

"Captain Weaver, Tom, Tector, Dai and Anthony. I could use some steady hands." she tells them.

Quickly, they put down their weapons and ready themselves to help remove the harness from Hal's back.

"Anne..." Maggie begins; she takes a step towards Anne as she says, "I want to help."

Maggie's voice is as shaky and as unsteady as her hands are.

"I need steady hands, Maggie...And yours..." Anne begins; she pauses to let out a small sigh as she quickly, and reassuringly, squeezes Maggie's hands. "He's going to be okay." she tells her.

Weaver, Tector, Dai, Anthony and Anne lift the harness out so to expose as much of the needle as they can while Tom lifts the blow torch. Tom had insisted that he should be the one to do this.

Lourdes steps towards Maggie's side and puts her left arm gently around her, a reassuring gesture, just as Tom begins to slowly cut the needles with the blow torch.

Despite the previous success with this method of removal, there are still high levels of risk involved in the procedure. As Tom reaches the last of the needles of the harness, Maggie's heart begins to beat faster. It begins to beat much harder. It's almost off. The harness is almost gone and Hal is almost okay.

Lourdes walks to Maggie's side, and puts her left arm around her, reassuringly, as Tom begins to slowly cut the needles with the blow torch.

Maggie, and all else in the room, release a small sigh of relief once the Hal is finally removed from Hal's badly injured back.

Maggie can see the beacon of light again. It's weak and she can only catch a glimpse of it but right now a glimpse is all that she needs. She can hold onto this glimpse of light because in time it will get stronger, just like Hal will.

They move onto Benjamin and repeat the procedure, successfully removing his harness too.

Now, Anne states that they will need time to heal. Time to rest and recover and they should be okay but she cannot say and does not say with certainty that they will be okay.

From Anne's inspection she estimates that Benjamin's harness was on for two weeks, at the most, while Hal's harness appears to have been on for much longer and she guesses it was somewhere between four to eight weeks.

After tending to, cleaning and bandaging Hal and Benjamin's other wounds, Anne briefly excuses herself so that she may find Pope and tell him that they have found Benjamin. Anne finds Pope in his room with Lyle and Lee.

From the doorway, Anne asks, "Pope, can I have a word?"

Pope reluctantly agrees and moves slowly and silently towards Anne. Upon reaching her, he asks, "How can I be of assistance, Doc?"

"On a scouting mission today they found Benjamin – your son. He was harnessed but it hasn't been on long. He's alive, he's healthy – and he's in the med rooms if you want to go and see him." Anne tells him; as she speaks a small, kind smile appears on her face.

As Anne watches Pope's face, and his eyes, for some or any kind of emotion or reaction she receives emptiness.

"How do I know it's the right boy, this time?" he asks; as he speaks his tone is that of an angered one as he is reminded of the last time that Doctor Glass had 'found' his boy.

Anne sighs before she tells him, "Maggie tells me that it's Benjamin. She recognised him by his eyes. She is the one who found him. I just thought I would let you know, Pope, it's up to you."

With those last words spoken Anne leaves Pope, to his thoughts of Benjamin, before she returns to check in on Hal. As she returns she finds Maggie standing by the end of Hal's bed, Tom resting on a chair with Matt on his knee and Ben sitting down on a chair.

As Anne returns, Maggie glances up and asks, "Why isn't he awake yet?"

A moment earlier, Maggie had been fidgeting with her gloves and then her fingers and now she fidgets with her hair.

""De-harnessed children can be asleep for several hours, at the least. " Anne answers. "It's normal." she adds.

None of this is normal, Maggie thinks. Nothing in this world is normal anymore. It hasn't been normal for such a long time and never will be normal again.

Their conversation is broken by Pope who quickly steps through the curtains of Hal's room. He stops, abruptly, upon noting that this is not his son's room and that he had interrupted their conversation. Quickly, Pope casts a look over Hal and then he glances towards Tom.

Pope's usually calm and unreadable face is, in this moment, the opposite. He cannot hide the fear or panic in his eyes. And then, Pope shifts his gaze towards the next bed; his eyes find Benjamin all alone in the hospital bed. He isn't awake either.

Pope steps past them, as though he is unaware of their presence, and moves towards Benjamin. He watches his son silently for a moment before he becomes aware that he is being watched and so he pulls the curtains over on the room to allow himself to have some privacy with his son.

His son, Pope thinks. This is his son, his boy is here. He's got his boy back.

Pope just stares at Benjamin for a moment as he finds he cannot do much else. His fingers, which are surprisingly unsteady, brush back a strand of hair off of Benjamin's cheek. Then, Pope sees the screws in his back; the remains of the harness. It doesn't bother Pope as much as he'd thought that it would.

It doesn't make him sick to his stomach, like he'd expected it to. He actually feels the opposite. It makes him want to care for his son, to protect him, and to be there when he wakes. It makes Pope angry because he feels like he has failed his son so badly when he should have protected him.

Pope is hit with a powerful wave of sadness next; his little girl is still missing, she's gone, and she could be dead. He has no idea where she is or if he'll ever see her again. Pope pulls up a chair to Benjamin's bedside and waits. He waits for his son to wake – he wants to be here, even if he's not sure what he'll say, he just wants to be here when he wakes.

In the room next to Pope's, a silence that none are sure to fill still floats in the air.

Maggie remains silent because she's almost afraid to speak because she's afraid of what she will say. She's afraid that she won't be able to handle her emotions or feelings and so instead she remains silent.

Tom doesn't speak because he doesn't know what he could possibly say. He knows that there is nothing that he could say at this point that could comfort Ben, Matt or Maggie, or even himself.

Ben stays silent with his empty eyes glued to a spot on the floor. He believes, that despite his father's attempts to convince him otherwise, that this is all his fault. Ben cannot be around Hal. He can't look at him without seeing what he has done to his brother. The scars that Hal now wears are because of him, Ben thinks.

This needs to end now, Ben thinks. He needs to find the rebel skitters and he needs to save the planet.

After Ben had wiped Hal's back with a small, damp cloth, the way that Hal had done for Ben upon his return, Ben stands slowly and turns towards Maggie as he finally speaks.

"Maggie, why don't you take my seat?" Ben asks. He pauses before he adds, "I'm feeling really tired...I think I could use some rest."

Maggie glances, briefly, at Tom before she looks back to Ben and nods simply. "Thanks, Ben." she mutters.

Tom shifts so that Matt is sitting on the armchair, and not on his knee, and stands from his seat. He takes a step towards Ben as he asks, with a slight frown on his features, "Are you okay, Ben?"

"Yeah." Ben replies, quickly. "I'm fine, Dad. Just..." he pauses, briefly, before he says, "When he wakes, be there. Take care of him, okay? I know, he's stubborn, but he'll need it."

Ben remembers all too clearly what and how he felt when he woke from being de-harnessed. He'd felt a mixture of unclear and frightening feelings, emotions and memories. It will come back to Hal in fast, overwhelming rushes.

Ben knows that Hal will be able to handle it though because he has been and always will be strong. He'll always be a fighter.

"We'll all be here, Ben." Tom nods. "Including you." he adds.

With a small smile Ben answers, "I'll see you soon, then."

After leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Ben's forehead Tom whispers, "I'll see you when you wake."

"Yep. Ben nods.

Ben knows that he cannot save his family from the safety of Charleston. He knows that he has to leave to help the rebel skitters remove the Overlords. Ben can't bring himself to say his goodbyes to his father and his brothers again. He can't do it twice. He sees no reason for proper goodbyes when he'll be back so soon.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all the readers/reviewers/followers and favouriters. And also thank you very much to all the guest reviewers, who I can't thank personally. All of your support means so much.**

**Hope that you enjoy this one! And, I will be updating shortly.**

**:)**


	16. The sun is going down

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Benjamin wakes, before Hal, dazed and extremely confused. Upon noticing that his son was awake, Pope had yelled out to Doctor Glass for assistance. Anne had stepped through the curtains to find Benjamin slowly trying to move. She had checked over his wounds and had reassured Pope that he didn't have any serious injuries. Then, she had looked over his harness and had reassured Pope, again, that Benjamin was a healthy, strong boy.

Benjamin glances up towards his father but pauses. He stays silent for a moment before he asks, with a shaky voice, "Dad...?"

Pope stands up so that he may stop Benjamin from trying to roll over onto his back. "Don't try to move." Pope says, simply.

Pope takes a slight step back and hesitates before he slowly retakes his seat by Benjamin's bed.

"Dad..." Benjamin repeats.

Pope retakes his seat that is at the side of Benjamin's bed, he watches his son as he takes the seat.

"Dad…?" Benjamin asks again.

Pope coughs twice before he answers, "Yeah, yeah. It's me."

Pope is not sure how he should act around his son. He's not sure if he should kiss him on the head or embrace him or tell him that everything is going to be fine so for a moment he does nothing.

"Dad..." Benjamin begins. "They got her...They got her..." he says; as he finishes speaking he buries his head down into his pillow.

"Sophie?" Pope asks; as he speaks his voice rises unintentionally and cracks noticeably and he is almost certain that Mason heard him cry out from the next room.

"No." Benjamin answers; he speaks still with his faced buried into his pillow.

Pope knows, in this moment, who it is that Benjamin is talking about. He is talking about his mother, Jane.

"It's okay." Pope says. He moves his hand towards the back of his son's head as he says, "It's okay. You're okay."

Benjamin lifts his head off the pillow and turns to look at Pope. His brown eyes are filled with tears that have spilled down onto his pale cheeks. Benjamin is much thinner than Pope had remembered him being and also taller. His hair is longer, too, but then again he hasn't seen Benjamin for years.

Benjamin pulls his head off the pillow; his brown eyes are filled with tears that have fallen onto his pale cheeks. He's much thinner than Pope had remembered, and much taller, his hair is longer – but he hasn't seen Benjamin for years.

"They came out of nowhere..." Benjamin begins; he's almost hyperventilating as he speaks.

"Shh..." Pope says. He moves closer towards his hand with his hand still gently resting on the back of his head. He moves so that his head is resting against Benjamin's before he says, so softly so only Benjamin will hear, "It's okay. They won't hurt you again. I'm not going to let them."

As Pope finally pulls away from his son, Benjamin says, almost pleading, "Don't leave me again.

Pope shakes his head because he finds that is all he can do at the moment but Benjamin continues to watch him as he waits for something more reassuring than a nod.

So, Pope gives it to him. "OK." he says, finally. "I'm not going anywhere."

Benjamin pauses before he asks, "Promise?"

"Yeah..." Pope nods, once. He coughs once and scratches at the back of his neck before he says, "Get some sleep."

All of this is new to Pope. It's strange to him. He never had the chance to be a real dad before and now he has no other choice but to be a dad for Benjamin. He isn't sure that he is the right or the best choice for Benjamin but he won't leave him tonight. He promised. He owes his son that much.

* * *

"Dad..." Hal's shaky, soft voice echoes through the room and pulls Tom's gaze down to his son's eyes.

Tom finds that his son's hazel eyes are open and are swirling with a complex mixture of confusion and pain. Hal's eyes slowly move around the room as he attempts to figure out where he is and how he came to be here.

"Hal..." Tom says; he lets out a large sigh of relief as he moves towards his bedside.

Matt is also up on his feet in seconds and standing a few feet away from Hal.

Tom quickly glances up towards where he should find Maggie but instead he finds that her chair is empty. He hadn't noticed it but she had left hours ago. Tom lets out a small sigh before he says, to Matt, "Matt, go get Ben, and then find Maggie."

"OK." Matt replies; as he finishes speaking he turns and runs from the room as quickly as he can.

As Hal attempts to sit up his body is overcome with a great deal of pain which causes him to collapse back down onto the bed.

"Don't try to move, Hal. Okay?" Tom says; he is kneeling at Hal's side now and looks up at him with a smile of relief and love on his features.

"What am I..." Hal begins; he pauses as he slowly closes his eyes.

His body aches so badly, as does his mind, and he doesn't remember or understand in this moment how he came to be in such a state. As Hal finally reopens his eyes he finds Tom standing, looking down upon him, with Anne by his side. They are both wearing an identical expression of concern on their fears. This look of concern reminds Hal of his mother and how she would fret and worry over the four of them whenever they would get the smallest of colds or the smallest cut or bruise.

It pains Hal, greatly, to think of his mother but he doesn't say anything. How could he possibly say anything? How could he bring her up to his father or to his brothers?

He cannot mention his mother without causing pain despite how constantly he suffers as he thinks of her. They had to mourn her very quickly because the world was, and still is, in turmoil.

All that Hal can think of now is his mother and how he was never able to say goodbye to her. He never had the chance to tell her how much he loved her.

Hal lets out a small sigh before he says, "I can hear them."

Hal had accidentally blocked out Tom and Anne for a moment and they had become concerned that he couldn't hear them. He'd blocked them out because he was thinking of his mother.

Hal coughs, once, before he asks, softly, "What happened, Dad?"

The vulnerability, the weakness and the shakiness of Hal's voice is frightening for Tom to hear and causes Maggie, who has just entered, great pain to hear. Hal looks back at Maggie and gives her no smile or no flash of recognition.

His hazel eyes swirl with such deep and dark confusion.

"Hal..." Anne begins. She pauses before she says, "It's understandable that you're having a hard time remembering, considering what you have been through."

Hal's frown deepens slightly as he wonders what exactly Anne is talking about and what he has been through.

"What have I been through?" he asks; he pauses before he looks back at Maggie and states, "The last thing that I remember is you."

Maggie nods slowly but does not speak. She is trying her hardest to keep her emotions under control but she's failing. She can't handle this. She can't even pretend that she can handle this.

The darkness continues to claw at her. It continues to call out her name, which echoes through the cruel silence. Her mind, her cruel mind, is playing games with her. It's showing her the good memories for a few moments but they are soon overshadowed by the bad memories. The bad memories of Hal almost dying. That is one of her worst memories. Not the times that she has almost died because those don't frighten her.

The thought of Hal dying, the thought of even losing Hal almost shatters what little strength and hope that Maggie has left. She couldn't deal with that. Maggie fears that she'd break, she'd shatter, perhaps even go a little crazy. Hal means so much to her, more than either realize. And these feelings are so strong, they overwhelm her. But, right now, those feelings are shadowed by an evil, growling darkness that continues calling out her name, haunting the hallways of her mind as it waits for her to break down or for her to let it in.

Tom lets out a small, slightly shaky sigh, before he asks," What...You don't remember?"

Anne begins, "It's usual for harnessed children..."

Hal's face contorts into an expression of one of great pain and panic. "Harnessed?" he asks; the panic rings through his voice so clearly as he speaks.

Hal lifts his right hand, which he finds is shaking slightly, to the back of his neck and as he does he feels a spike sticking out of his spine. Now, he feels it in his spine. He drops his hand down towards where it had previously rested and proceeds to stare down at it as though it is not connected to his body.

"Hal, you're fine." Anne tells him, with a small smile.

Hal begins to move, to attempt to sit up, but Tom won't allow him to do such a thing in this condition because he isn't well. "Don't try to move, Hal. The harness was only just removed. You need to rest." Tom says, softly.

"If you need anything or you're not feeling well, call out." Anne informs Hal; as she speaks she wears a kind, warm smile.

Hal, who does not glance up at Anne, simply answers, "Okay."

As Anne leaves the room Maggie, who had previously been staring down at her hands, slowly steps towards Hal's bedside and as she reaches it she sits down on to the chair and pulls it up as close to as is possible to Hal.

"Hal..." she begins; she rests her hand down on top of his.

Hal seems as though he almost flinches at Maggie's touch. Slowly, he lowers his eyes down towards her hand.

"I thought I'd lost you..." she says, softly.

With a small smile, Tom says, "You gave us all a scare."

Hal doesn't glance up to Tom or Maggie as they speak but rather continues to look down up on Maggie's hand which still rests upon his.

Maggie begins, "Hal?..."

Finally, Hal's hazel eyes glances up towards Maggie and as he does this there is a flash of recognition in them but there is something missing. It is something that Maggie cannot pinpoint but she knows that something is gone. Hal pulls his hand out from underneath Maggie's and scratches at the side of his head before he drops his hand down, by his side, and leaves it resting as far away from Maggie's as he can.

For a moment, Maggie looks down in silence at her hand. She remains this way, deeply confused, for a moment as she wonders and worries why Hal would pull away from her.

"Hal..." she says, softly; as she speaks she lifts her gaze to meet his eyes.

Hal stops Maggie and as he does Maggie thinks that he is going to say something about them still being partners, or something sweet, but he does the opposite of what Maggie expected and says something she didn't expect to hear from Hal Mason.

"I'm tired, Maggie." he tells her. "I just - I want to be alone." he says; he casts a quick look over her as he speaks before he closes his eyes.

Maggie nods and stands slowly and stiffly from her chair. She watches Hal silently for a moment before she suggests, "I'll come by later?"

"OK." Hal mutters; he answers so softly that Maggie only just manages to hear it.

Hal had come back to Maggie, he had come home, but this was not her Hal. The harness didn't bother Maggie. She still thought of him as her Hal. He was still the same person who had helped her to feel something that she never would.

He was the same person who was now giving her every reason to regret her decision to let someone in. And now, he was giving her a reason to let the darkness in, to let it take over her mind and to let it control her like it once did. And without Hal, Maggie is weaker. She's not sure how much longer she'll be able to fight the darkness alone.

As Tom steps forward, towards Hal's bedside, he pauses before he asks, "Hal, are you okay?"

Hal lets out a small sigh before he repeats, "I just want to be alone, Dad."

"OK. OK." Tom agrees. "That's fine." he adds. "Get some rest and I'll come by later, with your brothers?" Tom suggests; as he speaks he continues to watch Hal with a great deal of concern.

"OK." Hal mutters.

All that Hal really wants right now, and all that he needs, is to be alone.

* * *

As Anne steps inside the bedroom that she and Tom share she pauses upon catching sight of Tom sitting on the end of their bed. "Hey." she begins. "What are you doing in here?" she asks; she is slightly puzzled to find him here instead of with his sons.

Tom replies, weakly and effortlessly, "I'm not sure."

Anne steps towards Tom as she watches him lower his head down into his hands. She kneels down so that she is in front of him and pauses before she asks, "Tom, what's wrong?"

Tom keeps his head in his hands as he answers, sadly, "Ben's gone."

"What?" Anne asks; she continues to watch Tom with such intensity and concern as she asks, "Where is he?"

"Matt couldn't find Ben." Tom says; as he speaks he slowly lifts his head from his hands. His voice is soft, and defeated, as he adds, "He's gone. He left."

Anne begins, softly, "Tom, I'm sure that's not-"

"He's gone, Anne." Tom says, quickly. "He left to help the rebel skitters. And Hal is - Hal is..." he begins but finds he cannot finish as he isn't entirely sure what to say.

As Anne takes Tom's hands in her own she says, reassuringly, "They're going to be okay, Tom."

Tom wants to believe that they are going to be okay. He truly does but he doesn't have hope anymore. He does not have hope because it is constantly shattered. And it seems that so much has been thrown at him so quickly and he cannot deal with it. He's so incredibly tired, so mentally exhausted.

Tom sighs, loudly, "I'm just..." he pauses before he admits, with his eyes closed. "I'm so tired, Anne. I'm tired. I'm so exhausted..."

Tom begins to sob, now, as he says, "I'm so tired, Anne."

He lowers his head down so it is resting against Anne's shoulder.

"It's okay, Tom." Anne whispers, soothingly, as she wipes the tears from Tom's cheeks. "Ben will come back to us. He always does. And Hal is going to be fine. He will. They'll both be fine, I promise." she says, so softly.

Anne moves so that she is sitting next to Tom and as she does this she puts her arms gently around him so that he may rest his head against her shoulder. Tom closes his eyes again as he whispers, "OK."

* * *

"Hal...?" Matt calls out; his voice is barely above a whisper as he nudges his eldest brother's shoulder in an attempt to wake him.

Hal wakes instantly as though he wasn't sleep at all. His eyes dart across the room before he sets them down onto Matt. He rubs his eyes once before he asks, "Matt, what's wrong?"

Matt pauses before he says, softly, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay..."

As Matt finishes speaking he lowers his gaze so that he is looking directly down at his shoes. Then, he looks down at a spot on the floor.

Hal answers, quickly, "I'm fine, Matt."

But, these words to little to convince Matt that he is fine. Matt, who continues to stare down at the spot on the floor, simply nods.

"Matt..." Hal begins; as he speaks he pulls himself upwards on the bed so that he is sitting. A small, muffled gasp nearly passes Hal's lips but he doesn't allow it to as he doesn't wish for his brother to worry about him any further. A grimace appears on Hal's features as he begins, "What..."

"You promised." Matt says; his tone is that of an accusing one as though Hal had promised something and then let him down.

"What?" Hal asks; as he speaks he frowns slightly and lets out a small sigh.

He doesn't sigh because he is frustrated with Matt because he isn't. He sighs because he is emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted.

"You promised." Matt repeats. "You said that you would all come back. But you didn't. And now Ben is gone, again, and you're like Ben, and Dad is worried." Matt says; as he speaks he talks so fast that he almost begins to hyperventilate.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down, buddy." Hal tells him, softly.

As Hal stands from the bed the weakness hits him harder than he had ever expected it to and he finds himself reaching out for the rail of the bed. He grabs onto it tightly and soon finds that it is all that is holding him upwards. With the harness, he was stronger and he didn't feel the pain as bad. Without it, his wounds are taking their toll on his body, on his strength and on his mind.

While still holding onto the bed rail, Hal asks, "Ben - Ben left?"

As Matt finally looks up to Hal he nods once before he says, "You promised."

"Yeah, I did." Hal replies. He lets out a deep, shaky breath of air as he slowly kneels down in front of Matt.

The pain is so excruciating but he does not let on because he does not want to cause Matt further worry.

"And I always keep my promises. You know that?" Hal says. He pauses, briefly, before he continues, "Ben will come back to us. He's our brother and he'll always come back. And I'm fine, Matt, I'm gonna be fine."

Hal lowers a hand down on to his brother's right shoulder before he whispers, "I promise."

Matt nods, once, and replies, "OK."

Hal can still see, clearly, that Matt is still so worried about his family and he is still upset and so Hal slowly stands up from the ground and says, "Come on."

Hal makes his way back to his bed with unsteady and shaking legs, gripping onto the rail as soon as it comes into his reach, and as he reaches the bed he slowly gets back into it and leaves enough space for Matt to join him. Hal lies on his right shoulder, and not his chest, so that Matt may be able to get in with him.

"Come on." Hal repeats.

Matt does not hesitate to climb up into the hospital bed and silently crawl in, under the blankets, next to Hal. Once Matt is in bed, Hal pulls the sheet up over Matt's side and then he slowly lifts his left arm over Matt so that he may pull him in closer.

"It'll be okay, Matt." Hal tells him. "I promise." he adds.

But as Hal says the words he does not believe them entirely. In this world things will be probably never be the same, or okay, again.

* * *

"Hal!" Tom calls out, loudly; such desperation and fear rings through Tom Mason's voice as he desperately tries to pry Matt's arms free from Hal's tight grip.

Tom had joined his sons a few hours earlier and had stayed by their bedside since. He had found them resting together, peacefully, in the same bed and such a sight had given Tom some hope that Ben would come back to him and that they could all be together again.

Hal had woken, or so Tom had believed, and muttered a few words that Tom could not understand. In seconds, Hal's face and chest had been covered with beads of sweat and he had been shaking slightly. Then, his arms had wrapped so tightly around Matt's left arm.

"Ow, Dad...Make it stop!" Matt cries out; as he cries out he tries to break away from Hal's grip.

"I'm trying, Matt." Tom replies, so quickly.

"Dad, make it stop." Matt cries out; he's almost sobbing now and such a sound causes Tom's heart to break.

Pope bursts through the curtains at the first sound of Matt crying out for help. He looks tired as though he hasn't had any sleep at all and he hasn't because he didn't want to fall asleep and then wake to find he had lost his son again.

Pope doesn't ask Tom if he needs his help because they don't have time. Pope grabs Hal's shoulders, from behind, and pulls him, with such force, away from Matt and out of the bed finally managing to break the grip.

As Hal's bare feet touch the icy cold floor, he opens now. His eyes snap open as he takes in a deep, sharp breath. Quickly, he breaks free of the barrier holding him but soon enough he comes to the realisation that it isn't a barrier that is holding him but Pope's arms.

Pope lets Hal go and takes a slight step back. As he does this, he continues to watch Hal carefully and with caution. Hal's eyes dart around the room as though he is in an unfamiliar place or as if he had believed he was somewhere else.

Slowly, Hal's eyes lower down onto Matt who is cowering against Tom's chest. He looks frightened as he buries his head into Matt's chest. Hal doesn't speak yet because he is breathing far too heavily to be able to say anything yet.

Hal glances back at Pope who he notices shares a look with Tom before he steps back inside of his son's room, closing the curtains behind him.

As Tom takes a slow, and cautious, step towards Hal he says, "Hal...""

Hal takes a step back as Tom moves forward. He doesn't back away because he is afraid of Tom. He backs away because he is afraid of what has just happened. He's afraid of what is in his head.

"Matt..." Hal whispers.

Matt stares at Hal with tears on his cheeks and fear in his eyes. His eyes scream the words that Matt doesn't speak.

_You promised_.

All that Hal can hear now are his past promises, both spoken and silent. He remembers the many silent promises that he'd made to protect his family and to protect the Second Mass. The promises that he made to his dead mother; all the promises that she would never hear.

Matt breaks free of Tom and runs as quickly as he can from the room and away from Hal.

"I'll be right back, Hal." Tom tells him before he quickly leaves the room.

Tom finds Matt with Anne, not very far away from the medical room. She has her arm around him and is comforting him. Anne tells Tom that she'll put some ice on his wrist because it's going to bruise and then she will go with him to get some breakfast.

When Tom returns to Hal's room he finds him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head resting in his hands and his chest heaving in and out.

Tom hesitates before he asks, "You ok, Hal?"

Hal does not acknowledge Tom's presence or answer him. Instead, he continues to stare down at the ground beneath him with his head resting in his hands. He can't bring himself to look at his father yet, not after what he has just done.

"Hal..." Tom says, softly; as he speaks he raises his right hand to Hal's back and very gently rests it down onto his shoulder.

Hal flinches at his father's touch, just as he had flinched when Maggie had touched his hand, and slowly raises his head out of his hands. As he does this, he slowly shrugs off his father's hand from his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Dad." Hal says.

"You're still a bad liar, Hal." Tom replies; a small, kind, friendly smile appears on his face in the hopes that it may convince Hal to talk to him.

Before Hal can speak two Charleston soldiers open the curtains and step through them.

"General Bressler requests an audience with Hal Mason." One of them announces.

Tom stands, slowly, before he states, "I don't think know is an appropriate time."

The second soldier states, "General Bressler assumed that you might say that. Now may not be an appropriate time but it is your only option, Professor Mason."

Tom shifts his gaze towards Hal who nods so slowly, indicating that he agrees that they should get the meeting over with now.

"The boy next door is weak and he's sleeping." Tom begins; he continues, with a voice so loud that Pope will hear, "He was only harnessed a week at the most. It's unlikely he'll be of any use. You shouldn't disturb him."

Pope is silently thankful for this. He can't stand to be around Bressler, or any of his guys, and he definitely wouldn't be able to handle them speaking to Benjamin and prodding him for information that he doesn't have. He thinks, maybe, he'll thank Mason for that later but he probably won't.

"Here." Tom says, softly; he pulls out a clean shirt for Hal.

Hal silently stares at the shirt for a moment before he stands up slowly and pulls it over his body which feels raw, like a million needles have been stabbed into his back.

"You ok?" Tom asks, again.

Hal simply nods, in response.

As Maggie catches sight of Hal and Tom being escorted by two Charleston soldiers, she calls out, "Hal."

Hal can feel, as he moves towards General Bressler's room, all in Charleston staring at him. He can feel their eyes burning into the back of his skull and analyzing each and every detail of his neck and back.

"Where are you going?" Maggie asks; she is, clearly, slightly panicked.

Maggie won't let them throw Hal out of Charleston. Over her dead body, she thinks, and she wouldn't go down without a fight.

Tom speaks, when Hal stays silent. "Meeting." Tom tells her.

"With Bressler?" Maggie asks. "Want me there?" she asks; as she speaks she continues to watch Hal.

Hal has barely glanced at Maggie until now. He glances at her, briefly, as he says, "I don't need you, in there."

"OK." Maggie nods. She comes to a stop, before she adds, "I'll be out here."

Neither Tom nor Hal answer Maggie. Instead, they leave her standing alone, outside of Bressler's room, with all of Charleston watching her.

"What was that?" Tom asks; his voice is low as he speaks and he is careful to keep his eyes firmly on his son who is acting differently.

Hal replies, casually, "I don't need her in here, Dad."

"Really?" Tom asks. "Before, you two were joined at the hip." he states.

Hal nods once before he says, "Yeah, well, like you said: before."

Before, Hal thinks. Before he was harnessed. Before he was lost. Before all of it. He can't go back to before and they can't go back to before. There is only the future despite how dim that looks to Hal.

* * *

As General Bressler stands before Hal Mason, staring at him with such intensity, he pauses before he asks, for the fourth time, "So, you're telling me you remember nothing?"

Colonel Porter and Captain Weaver are also in the room and they also watch Hal with a similar intensity as Bressler does but there is something different in Bressler's eyes that aren't in theirs. In the General's eyes there is distrust, hatred, disgust and repulsion.

"No. I don't remember anything." Hal answers. "The last thing that I remember is being in the forest and Maggie, she was hurt...I was leaning over her and I thought that she was dead." Hal says; he speaks clearly and slowly so that this time the General might understand and believe him.

"Do you remember how they put that-" General Bressler begins, as he motions towards Hal's back. "That thing on your back?" he asks.

"No, Sir." Hal answers, quickly. He pauses before he begins, "Look, I'm really tired-"

Bressler, loudly, begins, "So, you have no recollection of how-"

"I think we've established that the boy knows nothing, General." Colonel Porter says, speaking over General Bressler.

Hal is no boy, he's mature beyond his years, Colonel Porter knows this but he also knows that General Bressler is hot-tempered and that portraying Hal as an innocent, lost boy with no memory of the past weeks could potentially save his life.

"My son needs to rest, General, Please." Tom says; his tone is that of a pleading one as he hopes that Bressler may have a compassionate side to him.

And he does have a compassionate side to him. It's tiny, though, and wearing thin with the Second Mass.

"Fine. Go and rest. Come by tomorrow. Just you and I." Bressler says; as he speaks he looks only at Hal.

"No." Tom answers, quickly.

"Dad...I'll be fine." Hal insists.

Hal and Tom walk back towards the medical rooms not personally escorted by soldiers but Hal can still see the soldiers, a few feet back, watching Hal like a hawk just as all else from Charleston are.

Now, Hal has some idea of what his brother went through. Now, Hal wishes that he'd acted differently towards his brother and he wishes that he'd tried to be more caring, and more understanding. He wishes that he'd treated Ben like his brother and like his family not like a stranger. This is his karma, Hal thinks. He deserves all that has happened to him.

Hal notices, now, as they move back inside his room that Maggie was not outside waiting for him as she said that she would be. She's long gone.

"I'm fine..." Hal begins; as he speaks he watches his father take a seat in what looks like the world's most uncomfortable chair. "You don't have to stay, Dad." he adds.

Tom replies, with no hesitation, "I want to."

Hal slowly lowers himself down onto the edge of his bed and as he does so he lets out a small, sharp, painful sigh. "Dad..." he begins; his voice is much softer now.

"I want to be here, when you sleep." Tom tells him, with a small smile on his face.

Hal knows why Tom wants to be here, when he sleeps. It's because he hurt Matt in his sleep.

"I'm not tired." Hal tells him, lying.

Hal is so incredibly tired. He is beyond tired. His body and mind are so exhausted and he wants more than anything just to be alone.

"You told the General..." Tom begins; a small frown forms on Tom's face as he leans forward in his chair. "Hal, what's going on?" he asks.

Instead of answering Tom, Hal lowers his gaze down to his hands which Tom notices have the slightest tremble.

"Hal..." Tom says; he speaks softer, calmer, now as he continues to watch Hal.

"I just-" Hal begins but quickly stops.

Hal looks up at Tom, finally, to find that his eyes are filled with such hope, trust and love. Something that Hal had not wanted to see in his father's eyes because he does not feel deserving of such things.

"We need to talk about this, Hal." Tom tells him; as he speaks he stands from his chair and lets out a small sigh. "When you remember, we need to talk, okay?" he adds.

Tom watches Hal for a moment as he waits for him to answer but again Tom only receives silence.

"OK?" Tom asks.

"Yes." Hal answers.

It's not like Hal to keep anything from Tom. As he walks away from his son's room, all that Tom wants to do is go back in there and be there for his son, like his son was there for him when he returned.

But, Tom can't do that right now because Hal is stubborn. He's too stubborn for his own good. But, Tom believes, Hal will come back to him because he has to. He's a fighter. He'll get past this. Despite the obstacles that will come his way, Tom won't give up until his last breath.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone for all the support (eg. reading/reviewing/favouriting) Including the guest reviewers, that I can't thank personally. THANKS SO MUCH. It means so much! It really does, so thanks :) I'll continue to post as long as you're interested.**

**Also, I promise that Hal/Maggie scenes will be coming, as will more Mason family moments. And some surprises/cliffhangers/shocks will be coming, because you know I sorta like cliff hangers. :)**

**Anyway, Enjoy this one. And thanks so much..**

**:)**


	17. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Maggie steps through the curtains of Hal's room she finds that is alone, again, and lying on his chest with his head resting against his pillow. His hazel eyes are wide open but do not glance up at her as she enters.

"Hey..." she says, softly. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

Hal pauses before he replies, "Okay."

There is an odd, unsettling silence between the two of them again that Maggie hates. This silence drives her insane because there never used to be any sort of silence between the two of them. She takes a few steps towards Hal's beside and sits down on the seat that Tom had previously sat in hours ago. As she moves to his side, Maggie is careful not to life her eyes from Hal for a second.

"You know..." Maggie begins. "You had me scared, Hal." she admits.

It takes a great deal of Maggie's strength and courage to tell Hal this, to open herself up to him and share her feelings with him. It's hard for Maggie to do something so simple as this and it becomes even harder when she receives the opposite of what she was hoping for. She receives silence.

While still trying to remain cool and calm, Maggie asks, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Maggie doesn't want to get angry with Hal and she has no intention of doing so. It's understandable that he is like this. It is understandable that Hal is in shock and so Maggie just wants to help, that's all that she wants to do.

"I don't know..." Hal begins. He hesitates before he adds, "I don't know what to say, Maggie."

"Anything." she tells him; as she speaks she leans forward in her chair. "Just say anything, Hal." she says, softly.

"Anything." Hal repeats; as he speaks a small smile spreads across his faced and for a moment there is a flicker of the old Hal swirling in his hazel eyes.

Maggie cannot fight the smile that spreads across her lips but it seems that around the same time that Maggie begins to smile Hal's fades away. His smile fades away because he returns to reality and remembers his current situation.

Maggie pauses and lets out a small sigh. "I'm glad that you're-" she begins.

"I'm what?" Hal asks; he looks up at Maggie as he continues, "Are you glad that I'm okay?"

Hal moves, slowly, and pulls himself upwards so that he is sitting on the edge of his bed and facing her. "Because I'm not okay, Maggie. I'm not. I'm not sure if you've noticed these spikes sticking out of my spine - but that's not what okay looks like." he says; with each word he speaks he appears to get angrier.

Maggie stands, slowly, from her bed and takes a step towards him. "Hal, calm down." she says, softly. "You're alive. That's all that matters." she adds.

Maggie stops walking as she stands before Hal. She slowly lowers her hands down to his cheeks and gently rests them there. For a moment, Hal's face and eyes lose the anger and pain that they have been filled with since his return. She gently brushes her fingers along the cut that runs along Hal's left cheek and follows it down his jawline.

Maggie fades away from Hal's vision and in her place he sees a shadow, at first, and then they appear; the hauntings. Suddenly, it is not Maggie anymore. She's gone. He let her go. Suddenly, it isn't Maggie touching his face but it's a cruel, dark, taunting monster.

Hal snaps in a way that Maggie never thought that he would. He grabs her by the wrists, pulling them away from his face, and in the struggle when she tries to free herself Hal shoves her backwards. The back of his hand hits her face and she stumbles backwards, hitting her head on the back of the chair as she falls down to the floor.

Hal remains in a silent and shocked state for a moment as he stares down at Maggie. Both have a similar expression of horror in their eyes. Maggie had never thought that Hal Mason would hit her. This isn't her Hal. And she doesn't know what she can do, or what she can say, to bring her Hal back home.

Hal begins to speak but falls silent as he observes Maggie shaking her head. She stands slowly from the ground.

Hal moves like he is going to step towards her but he stops upon seeing the bruise that is already appearing on Maggie's left cheek. Neither say a word because neither know what to say.

What could they possibly say? What could Maggie say to Hal? How could Hal apologise to Maggie? How could Hal possibly begin to tell Maggie what he's seen and what he's been through?

There are no words; not in this moment.

Hal watches, helplessly, as Maggie leaves his room. She steps through the curtains as silently as whens he entered and she doesn't turn back. And in this moment, Hal fears that she will never turn back. But perhaps, if she never comes back to him, it's for the best.

Hal can save her, from hurting again, this way. He can save her from more pain this way.

* * *

As Pope steps through the curtains into Benjamin's room, he asks, while holding a tray of food in his hands, "Hungry?"

Benjamin, who is sitting up right in bed and isn't in any pain whatsoever, nods enthusiastically as he casts his eyes over the tray. On the tray, Pope carries, is a bowl of tomato soup, two pieces of bread, an apple and a cup of juice.

"Good." Pope answers; as he answers he takes a seat at the end of Benjamin's tray and sets the tray down onto his knees. "Here, you go." Pope says; he holds the juice out to Benjamin as he speaks.

Benjamin takes the cup and drinks most of it. "Thanks, Dad." he says, with a small smile on his face.

"Are you feeling better?" Pope asks; he continues to watch Benjamin as he speaks.

Benjamin nods once before he lifts a spoon of soup to his mouth. It's so hot that he nearly drops the spoon.

"Here..." Pope begins, almost jumping forward.

He takes the bowl from Benjamin's hand and says, "Here we go."

Slowly, he spoons a small amount of soup onto the spoon and blows on it before he presses it to Benjamin's lips for him to swallow.

"Apple?" Pope offers, once Benjamin has finished with the soup and bread.

Benjamin simply shakes his head. "You haven't slept in a while." he states.

"I don't need-" Pope begins.

"I'll be okay, Dad, you should get some sleep." Benjamin insists.

Despite all of the years which have passed, Pope can still read Benjamin as easily as he could before and so he can tell that Benjamin's lying.

"Why..." Pope begins; he pauses to cough before he continues, "Why don't I just sleep here...If you don't mind?"

Pope glances down towards his hands before he looks back up to his son.

"OK." Ben nods. "There's enough room in here for you, Dad." he adds, with a small, friendly smile.

"Of course there is..." Pope mutters; as he speaks he picks the tray up off Benjamin's knees and places it down onto the chair which he had spent the previous nights on. "You, with your chicken legs..." Pope adds, with a small smile, before he slowly pulls himself up onto the bed.

Benjamin offers Pope some of his blanket but Pope shakes his head. "Get some sleep." he tells him. "I'll be here when you wake." he tells him.

Benjamin nods before he snuggles deeper into the blanket and deeper into his dad's chest. Pope, slowly, drops his hand down to Benjamin's head and begins to gently stroke it. He hopes that sleep will come easily to his son.

Surprisingly, such a movement does not feel awkward to Pope but it actually feels rather normal. Now, that's a word for it, Pope thinks. None of this is normal.

Pope was never a good father and now that he has been forced to become one he isn't sure how long he is going to last. For a long time, he hopes. He'll last tonight, and the next night, he's certain of that much because tonight nothing could pull him away from his boy.

Pope's thoughts are interrupted by Benjamin who says, almost timidly, "Dad..."

"Yeah?" Pope asks; as he speaks he glances down to Benjamin who he finds has his eyes closed.

"I love you, Dad." he whispers.

"I know." Pope replies; because, he believes that it all he can say for the moment.

And then something else happens. He speaks before it crosses his mind and he says the words that he had wanted to say. These words don't seem so hard now as they escape his lips.

"I love you, too." Pope says.

* * *

As Tector catches sight of Doctor Glass, walking down the corridor towards the cafeteria, he calls out to her, "Doctor Glass!"

Anne stops and turns towards Tector with a warm, kind smile on her face. "Hi, Tector." she says. "How can I help you?" she asks.

"I, uh...not me. It's not me." he tells her. "Will you come with me?" he asks.

"Ah...Sure." Anne replies, quickly, with a friendly smile despite that she is more than a little confused about what exactly it is that Tector wants to see her about.

When Anne steps inside Tector's bedroom she finds that it is empty and that the only light comes from the one in the bathroom, in the corner of the room. From where Anne is standing she can hear someone retching.

"Maggie." Tector says; he answers Anne's silent, unasked, question about who was in there.

"I came back to the room...She was in there...She didn't look good. The, she just started vomiting." he says; he speaks so quickly and also nervously because he does worry greatly for Maggie.

Tector glances from Anne towards the bathroom door and then back to Anne. He pauses before he says, "I've gotta go, Anne. I'm already late for my shift..."

"Sure." Anne replies. "Thank you, Tector." she says, with a kind smile.

Maggie glances up, back, at the doorway as she hears approaching footsteps and at first she assumes that it is only Tector returning but soon Anne appears in the doorway.

As Maggie pulls herself away from the toilet bowl, she says, "You don't have to be here."

Dam it, Tector, Maggie thinks silently. Maggie hates being sick but what she hates the most is being sick in front of someone else.

They can't do much to help you and their words really mean little. They simply stare at you with their eyes filled with such hope as they pray you'll get better soon, that you'll recover, but when you don't get better the hope fades from their eyes and despair takes it place and so you feel guilty. The feeling of guilt weighs down on your sickness and causes you to feel horrible.

Anne pauses before she asks, "You all done?"

Maggie simply nods once, at Anne.

Anne moves forward and flushes the toilet. Then, she slowly and carefully assists Maggie to stand from the ground. She is unsteady on her feet for a minute but she quickly regains her stance and pulls herself free from Anne's grip.

"How are you-" Anne begins but she falls silence upon noticing the dark bruise underneath Maggie's left eye.

"Don't." Maggie says; as she speaks it sounds as though she is almost pleading with Anne not to speak of it because she really doesn't want to talk about it.

"Maggie...I want you to think of me as..." Anne begins.

Maggie shakes her head, quickly, before she says, "You are, Anne. You are someone I can go to, a friend, but as my friend I'm asking you not to say anything."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Anne nods. "Okay." she says, softly.

"The vomiting..." Maggie begins. "It was something I ate." she says, shrugging it off.

Anne pauses before she says, "Did, uh...I'm sorry to ask this, Maggie, but I have to. Did you and Hal-"

"No, no. No, no. We did not." Maggie answers; she replies so very quickly. "I'm not pregnant, Anne." she tells her. "I'm fine. You know, it's probably something I ate here." she adds.

Anne's slight raise of her eyebrows indicates that she does not believe her completely.

"Or...It's something that I drank." she admits; she lets out a small sigh as she finishes speaking.

Maggie had spent a few hours drinking as much whiskey that she could stomach.

"Good." Anne says. "Thank you for being honest with me, Maggie." she tells her, with a small smile. Anne pauses before she asks, "You know, Maggie, if you wanted to talk..."

"I don't, Anne." Maggie says, quickly. "I really don't." she adds.

"Okay." Anne answers. She pauses before she asks, "But if you do you know where I'll be. You know, Maggie, Hal is in shock. But in time he'll get past it and he'll need you. He'll push you away because he doesn't want to hurt you, not because he doesn't want you….Just don't give up on him, okay?"

Maggie hesitates before she replies, "Okay"

Anne is right, Maggie thinks. She cannot give up on Hal because he would never give up on her. She has to be persistent. She has to let Hal know that she is not giving up on him.

Underneath the pain, and the anger, he is still her Hal and Maggie won't lose him. She can't lose him. She sure as hell won't let the darkness win; not today and not ever.

* * *

As Tom steps inside Hal's room, with a tray of food in his arms, he casts a look over Hal before he asks, "You hungry?"

Hal pauses before he slowly takes the tray from his father. "Thanks." he answers.

Hal casts his eyes over the bread, soup and apple on top of the tray before he lifts his eyes up towards his father who he finds is standing silently before him.

"How's Matt?" Hal asks, finally, breaking the momentary silence.

Tom answers, softly, "He's alright. He's okay."

"How's his arm?" Hal asks; as he finishes speaking he takes a bite of his bread, after he dips it into the soup.

"Bruising...But it's nothing, Hal. It's okay." Tom says; he answers with a small smile on his face that is supposed to reassure Hal but it doesn't, it only makes Hal feel worse.

"Hal..." Tom begins.

Hal says, loudly, "I did that."

Hal stops his father from speaking because he already knows what his father is going to say. He is going to say that it isn't his fault but Hal knows that it is.

Tom Mason is such an incredibly good person with such a pure heart. He is willing to believe the best in people even when there is nothing good left inside of them. Somehow, even when the sun is gone and only darkness remains, Tom still holds hope.

That is how Hal is feeling at the moment; like there's nothing good in him and only darkness remains inside of him. There isn't anything good left, not anymore, not after what they did to him and especially not after what he did.

The blood, which will forever stain his hands, haunts Hal at this very moment.

As he puts down the piece of bread on the plate, Hal says, "I hurt him, Dad. And I hurt Maggie."

Hal has lost his appetite just thinking about it. He wants to throw up everything inside of his stomach as he thinks of causing his loved ones pain.

Tom frowns, slightly, "What?"

Tom's face is always filled with such worry, concern and pain and Hal wonders how much more his Dad can take. He wonders how much more weight can be put onto his father's shoulders before the pressure, and the pain, becomes too much and he breaks.

As Hal pushes the tray of food to the end of the bed he slowly moves his legs over to the side of the bed. "Yeah." Hal says. "That's right." he adds. He pauses as he struggles to continue, "I..."

As Hal closes his eyes he can see the fear in Maggie's eyes and the horror that will haunt him until the day that he dies. It is the horror of knowing that he had physically hurt someone that he cares so deeply about. He'd done the same thing to Matt, his little brother, and he believed that it was only a matter of time before he did it to someone else that he cared about.

"I hit her." Hal, painfully, admits.

These words don't shock Tom. They don't make him angry or fearful. They make Tom want to be there for Hal so that he may help him heal. Tom knows his son and he knows that his Hal, his son, would never do such a thing intentionally.

But, despite how badly Tom is trying to help him, Hal will not let his father do such a thing because he does not believe he is deserving of his help.

"Yes, Dad." Hal says. "I hit Maggie and I almost broke Matt's arm." he adds.

Hal's eyes do not falter from his father's as he speaks. He sees, in his father's eyes, that despite all that he has done his father's eyes are still filled with such trust, warmth and love and Hal feels so undeserving of it all.

"Hal..." Tom begins, softly. "You're confused. You're in pain. You didn't mean to do that. Matt knows that, I know it and I'm sure Maggie knows it too." Tom tells him.

Hal nods, slowly. "Mmm..."

Hal stands, slowly, from the bed because he finds that he cannot sit much longer. He's going crazy here. His legs keep telling him to stand despite the weakness and the pain that he feels every time he does.

Tom begins, softly, "Hal..."

Their conversation is interrupted, again, by the same two soldiers; who have come to bring Hal to meet with General Bressler. Tom objects, at first, arguing that his son is too weak and too tired. Hal knew that Tom would argue and so he turns towards his father and tries to reassure him as best as he possibly can.

"Dad, I'll tell you everything. You know I will." Hal says; he speaks so low that only Tom will hear.

If only Tom knew that Hal was lying. He won't tell his father everything because he can't. He can't because he's afraid of what his father would say, what he would do and how he would act around him. This is why he has to keep all of it inside. Despite that the pain is as constant and fresh as the hauntings and fear inside of him, he has to keep everything inside.

* * *

General Bressler interrogates Hal for over an hour, with Captain Weaver and Colonel Porter in the room. They'd insisted on staying for some of it and Bressler would allow them to do so, for now.

"It's a little coincidental, isn't it? That despite two months of searching members of the Second Mass just 'stumbled' across you at warehouse half an hour north?" Bressler asks; as he speaks he glances towards Weaver with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Hal begins, "Like I said-"

"Yes, I'm well aware of what you said." Bressler says, quickly. He pauses before he continues, "You don't remember anything. I understand. You've been through quite an ordeal. Can we have a word, in private, Hal?"

Hal glances from Bressler to Weaver and Colonel Porter before he nods slowly at them.

Weaver says, reassuringly, "We'll be right outside, Hal."

Bressler waits until Weaver and Colonel Porter are gone from the room to speak. He says, "Alright, let's just cut to the chase here, Hal. You've got to remember something and I need information – those aliens weren't far from here. And I can't take any more risks on your family-"

"My family?" Hal asks; as he speaks he stands slowly from his chair.

"Yes, you're family. Honestly, I'm a little sick and tired of your families 'don't remember anything' routine. Do you know what happens to people who don't remember Hal?" Bressler asks.

Bressler speaks with such a low voice so that only Hal will hear. The soldiers in the room aren't paying attention to the two of them anyone.

"What is that?" Hal asks.

Bressler speaks slowly, as he says, "Accidents happen to those people – to their family, their friends…their girlfriends."

"Yeah?" Hal asks; as he speaks a small smile appears on his features. "General Bressler..." Hal begins. "Do you know what happens to people who threaten my family?" he asks; as he speaks he almost cannot contain the anger that rises in his voice.

Hal would die before he let any harm befall his family, and that includes those in the Second Mass who he considers to be his second family.

"They disappear in the night and their bodies are never found again." Hal whispers, threateningly, in the General's ear. He pauses before he takes a step back from Bressler and with a small smile on his face he asks, formally, "Are we done, General?"

Bressler nods once. "Yes." he answers. "Go." he adds before he returns to his table.

Once Hal is gone from the room, Bressler orders his soldiers to keep a close eye on those of the Second Mass, especially the Mason family.

* * *

As Tom steps out of Arthur Manchester's room, Weaver catches sight of him and moves towards him.

"How'd that go?" he asks.

Tom sighs before he admits, "The sooner we leave the better."

"That bad, huh?" Weaver answers.

Tom simply nods in response.

Captain Weaver remains silent for a moment before he says, "Well, I guess that Charleston wasn't everything we'd hoped it would be..."

The best thing that Weaver had found in Charleston was his daughter, Jeanne, and apart from the supplies of food, the clean beds and the rest, it wasn't what they hoped that it would be.

"No, I think it was. I just think we've spent so long living differently…we're not used to this..." Tom answers.

They walk for a moment, in silence, until Weaver finally speaks. "I'm sorry, about your boy." Weaver says, with a softer tone.

"Which one?" Tom asks, with a small hint of a smile.

Everything is so incredibly crazy at the moment. All of his boys are hurting and one of them is gone.

"All of them..." Weaver begins. He pauses before he states, "They're exactly like you are, Tom."

Tom pauses before he says, "That's what frightens me."

"No - I mean...If they're as stubborn as you are they'll come out fighting." Weaver tells him; as he speaks he continues to watch Tom carefully.

As Tom meets his gaze, Weaver smiles at him. He cannot even begin to imagine what Tom is feeling, or what he's going through, so a kind gesture like a squeeze of his shoulder will be enough.

So Weaver squeezes Tom's shoulder reassuringly. As he takes a step back, Weaver says, "You need anything, you know where I am."

"Thanks, Captain." Tom answers; as he finishes a small smile reappears on his own face.

All that they have in this world is each other and that's all they really need to get through these hard times. They need each others support and a little faith.

If only Hal would let someone, anyone, through and allow someone to support him for a change. Tom won't give up on Hal and he knows that Maggie won't give up on Hal either. They both care about him so deeply and neither will give up until he's okay. They won't give up until he comes home to them.

* * *

**A/N: I thought I might upload this one a little earlier today, and if I have time I might add another chapter.**

**And also, to the Guest review who posted on Chapter 16;  
Thank you :) I'm really glad that you enjoyed it. I'm going to try to update much faster from now. Things will return to some kind of normal, eventually. And what happened to Hal will be revealed in a few chapters. More hints will be dropped in the chapters leading up to you finding out.**

**- Thanks to everyone for all of your support. It means so much.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one :)**

**X**


	18. Our lonely hearts

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Maggie slowly steps through the curtains to Hal's room she finds him awake and sitting up on the edge of his bed. She finds that he is staring down at the ground as she enters.

"Hey..." she says; she had wasted hours trying to sleep and so she had decided to come see Hal.

Hal's head snaps up at the sound of her voice and as his eyes meet hers he remains silent for a moment. He isn't wearing a shirt so all of Hal's scars and wounds are exposed for Maggie to see. But Maggie doesn't look. She doesn't look at them because Hal didn't look at hers and so she will not look at his until he is ready.

"Hey." Hal replies; he seems extremely surprised to see Maggie here with him. "What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I, uh..." Maggie begins. She pauses before she continues, "I wanted to see how you were doing." she says, softly.

"I'm surprised to see you here." Hal admits. "After, you know..." he adds; as he speaks he lowers his gaze down onto his hands.

As Maggie takes a step towards Hal she says, "A wise man once told me that there's no such thing as a lost cause, not when there are people still willing to fight for it. You're not a lost cause, Hal. Despite what you're thinking now, what you're feeling...What I'm trying to say is your father will fight to the death for you, Hal, and so will your brothers...And I..." she pauses, now, but only for a moment before she continues, "Well. We're partners and partners never give up on each other. I won't give up on you, Hal, even if you've already given up on yourself."

Each and every word that Maggie has spoke, everything that she has said, is true. She will never give up on Hal Mason. She will never give up on what they have and what they could be. What they have is too precious in this world and she isn't going to let it wither and die. She's going to fight for it until the very end and this is not the end for them.

"Maggie..." Hal begins; he sounds so dreadfully tired.

"I know what you're going to say, Hal." she tells him. "You're going to give me some scrap speech about how you're tired and how you want to be alone, and it's not going to work. I'm not going anywhere." she says; as she finishes speaking a hint of a smile appears on her face.

This smile, her smile, almost convinces Hal that it wouldn't be better if they were apart. But he's so afraid of hurting Maggie or his family and he knows that there is no other option.

"You don't know what they did to me." Hal says; his voice is much louder than he'd intended it to be.

His voice is unsteady and cracks as he speaks, "You don't know what they did, Maggie."

As he speaks he stands so very slowly from the hospital bed. "I'm not me anymore, Maggie." he announces. Then, with such a saddened tone he asks, "Don't you see the spikes?"

Maggie begins, "They don't mean anything."

"Just stop it." he tells her. "Stop it, Maggie, okay?" he asks; he pauses before he lets out a long, deep sigh. "Please, just...Whatever this is, just stop it, Maggie. I can't deal with it." he says; as he speaks he meets her gaze directly with his own hazel eyes.

Maggie hesitates for a moment and allows a few seconds to pass before she speaks. "What about-" she asks.

"What about us?" Hal asks; he tilts his head to the side as he speaks. "There's nothing here, Maggie!" he tells her. "Not since they put the harness on my back. It changed things, Maggie. It changed so much and there's nothing here." he says; as he speaks he is careful to hold her gaze.

Maggie shakes her head, in disbelief, before she says, "You don't mean that."

Maggie isn't buying this. It isn't Hal. Hal wouldn't give up on them. She won't allow Hal to push her away. It won't work this time. She's not giving in so she tries, instead, to make Hal give in to this act and just let her help him. She just wants him to let her be there for him.

"You don't mean that." Maggie repeats. "Don't you remember?" she asks; her voice is soft and desperate as she speaks.

"Yes!" Hal answers, loudly. "Of course I remember!" he says; he sounds as though he is almost angry as he speaks. "But, what's the point of having these memories when I don't feel anything?! I don't feel anything, Maggie. Not for you. Not anymore." he tells her.

Maggie shakes her head, slightly, as a few stray tears have fallen down and stained her cheeks. "No." she says, simply.

Hal's breathing seems to almost stop entirely as he notices the tears which have fallen onto her cheeks. The tears that he has made her cry. He begins to speak but he finds no words.

"This isn't you, Hal." Maggie states. "I know you." she adds.

"You knew me. You don't know me. There's a difference." Hal tells her. He continues with a lower voice, "I'm different now...I could...I'm not me. And there's nothing here, Maggie. Not anymore. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that before you understand that there is nothing here."

On the outside, Hal is as emotionless and as cold as he has ever been. Maggie, on the other hand, is unable to retain such an emotionless composure because those few words kill Maggie. They break her already damaged heart, shattering what little of it remained beyond repair.

"You don't mean that." Maggie tells him; her voice is shaky and unsteady as she speaks and she sounds as though she is angry and she is, she is angry at herself for allowing herself to feel something when she should have known better because those feelings have know become destroyed.

Hal simply shakes his head and with a softer voice he says, "There is nothing here, Maggie. There's nothing left."

Tom, who had over-head the end of Maggie and Hal's conversation, waits a few moments after Maggie leaves before he decides that he will step inside, through the curtains. As he does he finds Hal sitting on the edge of his bed with his head resting in his hands.

"Hal..." Tom begins, softly. "Did you really mean that?" he asks.

Hal breathes in sharply before he lifts his head out of his hands and meets his father's gaze. Tom finds that Hal's eyes are red, like he's been crying or trying not to cry.

Hal pauses before he says, "Of course...I didn't..."

Tom slowly takes a seat down on the bed beside his eldest son before he asks, "Why did you say it, Hal? Why did you push her away?"

"Because..." Hal mutters.

"You're going to have to give me a little more than that, Hal." Tom replies, quickly.

"Because I love her." Hal says. "And I don't want to hurt her again." he adds.

Hal has finally admitted to himself that he does love Maggie. What they have couldn't possibly be 'teenage' love. It certainly isn't a crush.

There is something much deeper than that between them. He hasn't known Maggie for a very long time but time doesn't always matter, not when his feelings for her are so strong and so deep that he doesn't fully understand them. But Hal can't say this to Maggie because he has to protect her even if that means protecting her from a distance.

"I don't..." Tom begins. He pauses before he says, "That hurt her, Hal. It hurt her."

"I know that, Dad. But - what I'm saying is...I think you know what I'm saying, Dad." he says. Hal lets out a small sigh before he continues, "We both know where this is headed, where I'm headed."

As Hal finishes speaking he lifts his gaze so that he may look upon his father who he finds is frowning.

"Where you're headed?" Tom repeats.

Hal nods, once, before he states, "You know, Dad...I've seen...I've seen the scabs on Ben's back."

"No." Tom says, quickly. "No." he repeats; he continues to shake his head because he knows what Hal is about to say.

"I've seen the scabs, Dad." Hal admits. "They're spreading. And, Matt told me about that little girl on the bus...The scabs on her face and her claws..." he tells him.

"No, I'm not." Tom says; still, he continues to shake his head.

"You're not what, Dad?" Hal asks; as he speaks he stands from his bed. "You're not going to let it happen? You can't stop it. We all know what I'm turning in to. What Ben is turning in to." Hal says; he speaks so very loudly. After pausing for a moment, Hal says, "You know, I used to have hope, faith...But not anymore. My fate is inevitable."

"No." Tom repeats. "We will find a way." Tom says; as he speaks he stands from the bed and steps towards Hal.

"I'm not sticking around, Dad..." Hal begins; as he continues he speaks slowly, and with an expression on his face that contorts into a pained one as though he might throw up. "For you to see, for Maggie to see, what I become...I want you, and her, and Matt to remember me before."

With such a sad expression on his face, Tom whispers, "It sounds like you're dying, Hal."

"I am dying!" Hal exclaims, with a louder voice than he'd intended to. "There is no cure for this! You can't fix this! Soon enough, Ben and I will be the enemy and we'll get killed. There is no other way for this to end but for us to leave..."

"No!" Tom answers, quickly. "You're my son. You're _my_ sons! And you're not going anywhere. You're not leaving, you're not dying and you are not turning into skitters. I will find away." he says; as he speaks he sounds so angry and he is, he's so angry with the aliens for what they have done to his boys.

"You're my boys..." Tom says; his tone is that of a much softer one as he continues, "I'm not losing you."

"I don't want to leave, Dad." Hal says, sadly. "I don't. I don't want to leave you or Matt, or Maggie, but it's what I have to do." he tells him, with a calmer tone.

Tom slowly lifts his hands so that they are resting gently against Hal's pale cheeks. Hal flinches at his father's touch but he doesn't pull away.

"What did they do to you, Hal?" Tom asks, with a significantly quieter tone.

As Hal's eyes glisten with the threat of tears, Tom feels a deep, dark hole of pain inside of his chest. He has never seen Hal like this, ever, and seeing him like this now causes Tom such great pain and sadness.

Hal shakes his head as he attempts to pull away from his Dad, but Tom won't let him go.

"I can't-I can't." Hal stutters.

"No, no, Hal." Tom begins. "Talk to me, okay? I'm right here. Just talk to me." he says, softly and slowly.

Tom tries to keep his eyes locked with his son's, but Hal's eyes dart around the room like he is expecting some else or something else to be in here with them or to come in at any minute.

Hal nods, quickly, before he presses his pale lips tightly together in an attempt to somehow stop himself from the inevitable break he fears.

The memories, the pain, the blood and the hauntings all come back to Hal at once.

"I was-I was in the forest and Karen, she came after us..." Hal begins. "I thought that she killed Maggie, and I was so scared. I thought that she'd killed Maggie - and then...I woke up and I was in one of - one of the harness factories...They put the harness on..." Hal says; his hands begin to shake as he speak and as he finishes speaking he finds that he cannot look at his father.

Tom pauses before he asks, "That's the last thing you remember?"

Hal shakes his head so very slowly and as he does Tom can see the scared, frightened boy that he is in this moment and Tom begins to panic as he wonders what they did to his son.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry." Hal stutters. "I lied...I remember it all. I remember it..." he adds.

Hal breathes in so very deeply and heavily; his chest heaves in and out and as he does this he can hear his heart beating so loudly, as loud as a drum, and it continues to beat faster and faster with every passing second.

Hal turns his head towards the side, like he might be sick, and breathes in sharply before he admits, "Karen was there - Karen...She, she..." he pauses as he shakes his head, quickly. "I can't." he states.

Hal's shivering, now, shaking like he's so incredibly cold but he isn't cold. Apart from the pain and the fear which consumes him entirely, Hal does not feel anything in this moment.

"Karen was there – Karen…she, she," Hal turns his head to the side, like he might be sick, and breathes in sharply.

"You can." Tom says, softly. "You can tell me."

Hal's grip on Tom's arm tightens so greatly as he says, almost begging, "No, I can't, Dad...Don't make me."

Hal feels as though he is submerged in icy, cruel waves of water and his dad is his lifeboat and he cannot let go because if he does let go he'll go under the waves and drown.

"I can't." Hal repeats. "Don't make me, Dad, please don't." he says, pleading with Tom not to force him to speak about the hauntings.

Hal's eyes are filled with a frightening desperation and a dark horror which shatters Tom's heart.

"OK." Tom says, with a calmer voice. "It's okay, Hal." he tells him, softly.

Tom cannot push Hal when he remains in this vulnerable, unsteady state because he will almost certainly break.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this one's a little shorter...I just felt like it was the right place to end it.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Jealous Hal and action is coming, and Ben will be coming back shortly. So will some new faces.**

**Also; Dear Anonymous - thank you so much :) I am really happy to know that you love the way I write and that you are enjoying my story! I'm so glad you think it's amazing. Thank you so much.**

**Enjoy! :) Xx**

**Thanks so much to all of you.**


	19. Safe in your arms

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

As Maggie looks up, from where she is sitting on the edge of one of the med beds, she catches sight of Anne moving towards her with a smile on her face. "Thanks for coming in." she says, with a kind smile.

Anne cannot help but notice that the bruise underneath Maggie's eye is much darker than it was a few days ago but the swelling has gone down significantly.

Anne continues on, as normal, and suggests, "Let's get you checked out?"

Maggie simply nods in response before she slowly removes her jacket from her body, leaving only her singlet on. Maggie's burns, which are still covered by bandaged so to protect them, appear to be healing well after a closer inspection from Anne.

"Good." Anne says. "They look good." she tells her, with a small smile.

Anne checks Maggie's lower burns first and then after recovering them with clean bandages she checks out the burns on the upper half of her body. The burn on her face is almost healed but not entirely and so she covers it with a small bandage.

Then, Anne slowly lifts up Maggie's left arm and begins to gently remove the bandages. The skin is still fleshy around the burn and the burn itself is still raw but overall it appears to be healing very well. As Anne inspects Maggie's underarm she stops abruptly. She doesn't stop because of the burns. She stops because of the large lump that she feels in Maggie's armpit.

Anne takes in a deep, sharp breath before she finds the words to speak. "How have you been feeling lately, Maggie?" she asks.

"Fine." she answers.

Throughout Anne's inspection, and treatment of her wounds, Maggie had kept her eyes closed. So, with her eyes closed, Maggie did not notice Anne's facial expression shift into that of a greatly worried one as she'd felt the lump in Maggie's armpit. It was a swollen lymph node which could be an indication of two things.

The first possibility is that it is an infection, in her burns. The second possibility is that it could be a secondary tumor, if Maggie's brain tumours have returned.

"Maggie..." Anne begins. "I need you to tell me if you've been feeling sick lately." she says; as she speaks her tone is that of a much more serious one.

"Uh..." Maggie pauses. "Yeah, sure." she answers; as she speaks she raises her hand to the right side of her head where she scratches it. "A little dizzy, some mornings, when I wake up." she admits. Maggie pauses, again, before with a softer tone she continues, "Some days I feel sick. But not for long...And it passes, anyway. Why?"

Maggie falls silent for a moment before she opens her eyes. "Why?" she asks. "Do you think I have an infection?" she asks.

Upon noticing that Anne's normally calm and hopeful composure is gone, Maggie frowns slightly. "What's wrong, Anne?" she asks.

Anne continues to watch Maggie as she begins, "It could be a simple infection..."

"Or..." Maggie says, as she waits for Anne to speak.

And when Anne does speak, she speaks the words that are the last that Maggie had ever wanted to hear again. These are the words that she had feared she would hear again and now they had been spoken they could not be taken back or forgotten.

"A lymph node in your armpit is swollen." Anne tells Maggie; as she speaks she gently presses her fingers along Maggie's neck so as to check for any more swollen lymph nodes but she finds none.

"What? I don't..." Maggie begins. She falls silent, however, as she realizes what it is that Anne is implying.

Cancer. The cancer could be back.

Maggie's mood shifts so suddenly. The cool, calm, emotionless facade that she keeps up at all times disappears and the fear, which is evident in her eyes, creeps in.

"Maggie." Anne begins. "Maggie, it could be something as simple as an infection, okay." she tells her; as she speaks she wears a warm, comforting, reassuring smile on her features.

Maggie lowers her eyes away from Anne and slowly sets her gaze down onto the floor. She looks as though she is going to be sick as she begins to ramble. "It's not, Anne. It's not - because, because this is how it started. Before. Headaches, dizziness, vomiting."

"Maggie..." Anne begins, softly.

Maggie doesn't want to hear Anne's words, though. She doesn't want to listen to Anne promising her that everything is going to be okay and that it is all treatable because she has been here before and she is painfully aware that everything will not be okay.

"Please, Anne, just put the bandages on." Maggie replies.

Maggie's fear, which she usually does not allow herself to feel, gets the better of her in this moment and she finds that all that she wants to do now is to be alone. She wants to be alone with her photograph of Robbie because right now he is all she has.

The photograph of Robbie is all that she has of her family. It is her family. She just wants to be with him.

Anne takes her time re-bandaging Maggie's wounds as she has wanted to give Maggie the time to calm down and then perhaps, Anne thinks, that after this time passes Maggie may change her mind.

Maggie hasn't calmed down, though. She's just good at acting and pretending that she feels something she does. Maggie goes along with whatever Anne has to say and agrees with her that everything will be fine but she doesn't truly believe that. She doesn't know that everything will be fine - none of them do.

Security, safety and life are all incredibly uncertain to every survivor of the new world. While they may feel protected right now, in the underground security of Charleston, things won't always be like this. Even with protection the darkness will still find it's way inside. It will find a hole, a crack, and it will seep through this craw and claw at you continuously until you have no other option but to give into the darkness entirely and allow it to swallow you whole.

* * *

As Tom finds Anne inside their room he steps towards her, closing the door behind him as he enters, and with a small smile on his face he asks, "How is he?"

As he speaks he looks down upon Matt who is sleeping in the middle of their large bed, cuddled up underneath the sheets which Anne had tucked him into. He finds Anne sitting down at the end of the bed wearing an expression of defeat.

Anne pauses before she softly answers, "He's good. He wants to see Hal...I told him to wait until tomorrow."

As Tom moves back towards the end of the bed and takes a seat down beside Anne he answers, "Good."

Anne slowly lowers her head down so that it is resting softly on Tom's shoulder. As moves so that she is leaning against Tom, Anne releases a deep sigh.

"Hey..." Tom begins. He tilts his head, so that he may look at Anne, before he asks, "What's wrong?"

"Rough day." Anne replies; as she speaks Anne snuggles in so that she is as close to Tom as she can be.

Tom slowly, and gently, wraps his arms around Anne so that he is holding her tightly. He pauses for a moment before he asks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Anne replies; she shakes her head slightly as she answers.

Anne can't tell Tom this. She can't tell him this because not only is Maggie her friend, and it is not her place to speak to others about Maggie's situation, but also doctor-patient confidentially. If that even exists in this world, still, Anne isn't entirely sure. She doesn't wish to betray Maggie's trust and so she won't.

"Not tonight." Anne adds, with a much softer tone.

Tom remains silent as he pulls Maggie closer, towards him. He presses a gentle kiss to her forehead before he says, "Get some sleep, you need it. I'll join you after I check on Hal."

Tom enters Hal's room to find him resting on his chest, his body slowly heaving in and out, with closed eyelids. Tom is grateful to find Hal sleeping as he believes that his son not only so desperately needs sleep but also deserves it. He deserves to rest peacefully and without pain.

Tom sits with Hal for at least an hour until his incredibly exhausted feet lead him back to his room. Once inside his room he slowly gets into his bed, beside Matt. Once he is in the bed and underneath the covers Tom lowers his arm down over Matt and pulls him in as close as he possibly can. Anne, who is almost asleep but not entirely, places her hand gently in Tom's, holding it tightly.

With Matt in his arms and with Anne's hand inside of his, Tom falls easily to a well deserved and badly needed rest. As he falls into this sleep he does truly believe that in time everything could be okay again.

* * *

As Pope is shoved down the cement stairs and towards the cell, which apparently has his name on it, he raises his hands slightly in the air and calls out, "Easy! Easy."

As Pope glances down upon the cell he is not at all surprised to find Maggie inside of it. He'd known that she had been locked up and that was how he had ended up down here. After hearing from Dai that Maggie had been locked up by the Charleston soldiers, after trying to steal from the medical supplies, Pope had decided that he would try to free her as a sort of 'thank you' for bringing back his boy but it hadn't turned out so well.

They shove Pope forward, into the cell with Maggie, and lock the door. He stumbles forward for a moment before he quickly regains his balance. He turns towards the soldiers and proceeds to glare at them for a moment before he finally shifts his gaze upon Maggie who he finds is leaning against the wire fencing of the cell.

As Pope begins to pace back and forth a little bit he says, "Hello to you to, Mags."

Pope needs to get out of this cell. He wishes he'd never tried to 'thank' Maggie this way. He needs to get out so that he can be with his son.

Without glancing up at Pope, Maggie asks, "What are you doing here?"

Pope lets out a deep sigh before he answers, "Well...Actually, if you really want to know, I've come to rescue you."

Maggie replies, sarcastically and sharply, "That turned out well."

Pope ignores this and continues, "I think that the question on everyone's lips is, what are you doing in here?"

He pauses as though he is considering what he will say next. After a moment, he finally says, "I thought that you didn't want to get high? You know, since your boyfriend is back, I thought all was good in the world."

Maggie shakes her head slightly and with the smallest hint of a smile on her face she glances towards the guards. "Can you move him outta here?" she calls out.

"No, no. I'm good company." Pope says, quickly. With the hint of a smile, as he steps towards Maggie, he adds, "Don't you remember?"

These words don't make Maggie smile though. They make her feel much worse and they only make her angrier.

"If you don't take him outta here." Maggie begins, loudly. "I'll kill him." she says.

Without hesitation the soldier closest to the cell answers, with a smirk, "All the more reason to keep him in there."

Pope sighs and begins, "That's no way to thank your-"

"Pain in the ass?" Maggie asks; as she speaks she tilts her head slightly to the side.

As he shakes his head Pope replies," No. I was going to say savior."

"Well, you didn't save me. So, I'd call you a failure." Maggie answers, sharply.

She wears such a cold and hardened expression on her features now.

For a moment, Pope doesn't answer. He doesn't answer because he's sure that he'd only make things worse if he did - not that he doesn't mind making things worse. For a moment he remains silent because he is trying to think of a way to thank Maggie for bringing his son back to him.

Pope sighs. "I guess we're even." he states.

As he watches the frown fall onto Maggie's face, again, he realises she doesn't understand what he is talking about.

"I saved your life." he states. "You saved my son's. We're even." he adds; as he speaks he takes a few steps towards Maggie.

As Pope moves towards Maggie he watches her with a silent curiosity. He pauses slightly upon noticing the bruise on her cheek. "Who did that to your face?" he asks.

Pope had wanted to ask about her bruise earlier but he had wanted to get the 'thank you' off of his chest.

"No." Maggie says, simply. With a slight shake of her head she says, "Like hell we're even."

As Maggie speaks, Pope can see the hatred in her eyes and the pain. He can see so much pain in those eyes. "You may have stopped me from dying that night but you did not save my life." she says; she speaks so slowly so that she will never have to repeat those words again.

Pope instantly understands what it is that Maggie is talking about. She's talking about the time that she spent with his crew, with his brother and other members of his crew. Pope doesn't say anything back because really there is nothing he can say back. He finds no words that would suffice. There is nothing he could say to justify that.

Pope nods, ever so slowly, and remains silent as his eyes falter from Maggie, to the ground, and then lift up towards the door where he finds Captain Weaver walking down with General Bressler by his side.

Bressler points towards the cell Maggie and Pope are in before he announces, "Let those two go."

As Pope steps through the newly opened cell, Weaver says, "Last chance, Pope."

Pope simply replies, "Last chance."

For once, Pope does not reply with a sarcastic or smart-ass comment. Instead, he agrees that it is his last chance and leaves so that he may return to his son.

As she steps out of the cell, Maggie remains silent. She steps past Weaver and General Bressler without a glance and they do not stop her or try to speak to her. They let her go.

* * *

As Hal looks up from where he rests, sitting upright on his bed, he sees Matt slowly step through the curtain of his room. With a small smile on his face, as he catches sight of his brother, Hal says, "Hey, buddy..."

Seconds after Matt enters his room, Tom joins the two of them. Matt moves slowly and with some uncertainty towards Hal. He stops walking a few feet short of reaching Hal's bed and does not move or lift his eyes from the ground for a moment.

"I'm going to go talk to Anne. If you need anything call out." Tom announces; as he speaks he glances from Matt to Hal and as he finishes speaking he leaves the two of them to their momentary silence.

Hal pauses before, with his eyes set firmly on his brother, he asks, "How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Matt answers; as he speaks he sounds as though he is almost timid.

To see that his little brother is afraid of him pains Hal greatly.

Hal pauses before, as he pulls himself towards the edge of the bed, he says, "Matt..."

"I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that, right?" he asks. "I only want to protect you. That's all I want to do." he says; his voice is calm and gentle and almost similar to the one his father often uses.

As he takes a step towards Hal, Matt slowly nods once and glances up at his older brother. He remains silent though as Hal continues speaking.

"I"m sorry, Matt..." Hal begins. He hesitates before he says, "I...uh...I had a nightmare and it seemed so real. I thought that - I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought that what I was...I didn't know that I was hurting you otherwise I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have done it."

Matt believes Hal. He would never think for a second that his brother would ever want to hurt him. He forgives Hal and he always will because he loves him. He understands that the aliens hurt Hal - that's what his Dad told him.

_"The aliens..." Tom begins. He pauses before he says, "They hurt Hal. He's going to be okay but he's shaken up, Matt. He needs us. He needs you. And he loves you, so much, you know that. You know that he'd never hurt you, don't you? You're brothers. He loves you so very much and he always will."_

Matt moves towards Hal and pulls himself up onto the hospital bed so that he is sitting beside Hal. Quickly, he wraps his arms tightly around Hal's stomach and pulls his older brother as close to him as he can.

"Don't leave again, okay." Matt pleads, softly.

Hal nods, once, before he closes his eyes and warps both of his arms around his brother's small frame. "I promise." Hal whispers softly into Matt's ear.

In this moment, Hal has also silently promised his mother that he will not leave his brother's or father unprotected. He will not leave them until the end.

* * *

When Hal wakes the next morning he is allowed, by Anne, to leave the med rooms as he is healing very well and. He is instructed by her to attempt to try to return to his normal routine but Hal knows that he cannot go back.

For now, he will try to make things appear as though they have gone back to how they were. For now, he will still fight the aliens and protect his family. For now, he will try to find his brother and get him back. For now, he will protect Maggie from a distance.

Hal believes that he has two years, at the most, before his inevitable fate finds him and swallows him entirely. Until then he can defend his family, and the Second Mass, and fight for the survival of the human race.

After learning from Anne that Hal was allowed to return to his old room, something which Tom believes is far too soon but he does not argue, Tom had walked speedily to Hal's room and as he had entered he had found Hal sitting on the edge of his bed looking down at a pendant in his hands.

"Morning." Tom says, loudly; he wears a kind smile on his features as he speaks.

"Morning." Hal replies; he coughs once as he quickly shoves the pendant into his pocket.

Hal stands, slowly, from the end of the bed and as he does he casts a quick look over his father who he finds looks tired but not as exhausted as he did days ago.

Tom takes a few steps towards Hal as he asks, "How are you feeling?"

Tom pauses before he states, "It's good to see you up and moving again."

Hal simply nods once as he replies, "It's good to be up."

This is all Hal says for now because it is all he can say. He isn't good. He doesn't feel good at all or even okay. He feels on edge and shaky. He feels such incredible pain throughout his entire body. He doesn't only feel pain, though, because when he thinks of Maggie he feels numb.

"Hal..." Tom begins, softly. "It hasn't been proven that harnessed children turn into skitters." Tom states. "It's a theory, that's all, but it isn't the only one." he adds; as he finishes speaking he moves so that he is standing directly in front of Hal.

Tom believes that Hal needs to hear this. He needs to hear Hal understand that neither he nor Ben have a death sentence because of what is in their spines.

"The skitters..." Hal begins.

"Yes. The skitter that Anne opened up did have a harness but those harnesses could have been attached to the skitters before they came into this world, or after they got here. We don't know and that's my point, Hal, we don't know. Your harness isn't on anymore and it wasn't on for very long, neither was Ben's, and despite what you're thinking and what you're feeling - your fate is not sealed." Tom says; as he speaks he is careful to continue watching Hal.

Tom releases a small sigh before he says, "Trust me, Hal. Okay? Have trust and faith because that's all that we can have. You're stronger than you think, Hal. You're a fighter and I have never seen you give up or shy away from something difficult or something painful."

"You're right, Dad." Hal agrees. "It hasn't been proven but that's my point. You could be right or you could be wrong. We don't know." he adds.

As Hal glances down to his hands he finds that they are trembling slightly. They are trembling slightly because he can hear them, in his head, the voices and the hauntings.

Tom sighs, softly. "Hal..." he begins.

"Don't, Dad." Hal says, quickly. "Just...Please don't, okay?" he asks; as he speaks he lifts his left hand to his forehead and rubs it as though he has such a painful headache and his head does ache painfully.

With a slight frown on his features Tom quickly asks, "You okay, Hal?"

"I just..." Hal begins. "I want things to go back to how they were before. Normal? I guess. If that even exists anymore..." he says.

"OK." Tom nods, quickly. "I can do normal." he states.

A small, dry laugh escapes Hal's lips as his father speaks. It is a strange sound for Hal, and Tom, to hear as it has been quite some time since Hal had laughed.

"What?" Tom asks; a smile appears on his features as he cannot help but to smile upon hearing his son's laugh.

"Dad." Hal says. "Nothing about our family is normal." he adds.

Nothing in this new world is normal; not now and maybe not ever again.

Still with a smile on his face, Tom asks, "What's so good about normal, anyway?"

A silent moment passes between them as the smile slowly fades away from both of their faces. Tom pauses before he begins, "Hal..."

Hal knows what his father is going to say, what he is trying to talk about, and Hal can't do this right now.

Hal sighs, softly, before he says,"Don't, Dad. Please. I need..."

"I know." Tom answers, quickly.

Time. Hal needs time to heal physically, mentally and emotionally before he can speak of these hauntings. Tom needs time to prepare himself for whatever hauntings have changed his son and caused him such pain.

But, with time they will heal and become stronger and they will move past this as they always do.

* * *

**A/N: So, I only planned on adding one chapter today, and then I realized that chapter 18 is very small, and I also felt like being generous. It's kind of my way to thank all of the reviewers/favouriters/followers and to everyone of you who reads my story. It seriously means so much. I hope you enjoy this one.**

**:)**


	20. Open your eyes, now

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

With a friendly smile on his face, as he moves towards the empty chair next to Hal, Dai says, loudly, "Hey, brother."

Hal glances up at Dai as he answers, "Hey."

A small smile appears on Hal's features as he watches Dai take the seat beside him. It's good for Hal to see one of his friends and to be treated normally. This exactly what Dai does; he treats Hal like he normally would be teasing him, joking and laughing with him.

Hal pauses before he asks, "How's Maggie doing?"

This is the question that has been swirling in his thoughts for days. He misses Maggie, so badly. He cannot stand to be apart from her for any amount of time but he knows that it has to be like this.

Hal doubts that Dai would know how Maggie would. He doubts that anyone would know. Hal knows Maggie well and so he knows that she isn't the person who would confide in another, ever. She fees safer and better protected with those thick stone walls of hers constantly up.

"I don't know." Dai shrugs, slightly. "I haven't really seen her around." he adds.

Dai pauses as he considers whether he will tell Hal this and soon he decides that it is something that if Hal doesn't know he should know.

"You know..." Dai begins. "She was a mess when you were gone, brother. She started hanging out with the Berserkers again and you know, she was drinking and then she sort of came back to it. She went looking for you every day. With or without permission she went - it was usually without permission And she would just look for you, for hours, rain, hail or shine - or, in our case, skitter infestation. She didn't give up on you." Dai tells him.

With a smile on his face Dai adds, "You're a lucky man."

As he finishes speaking, Dai begins to dig into what remains of Hal's lunch without asking him first. Just like old times, Hal thinks.

As Hal stands abruptly from his table he says, "I, uh, I've got a check-up with Anne. I'll see you later, brother?"

Several heads around Hal snap back so that they may watch him, so they may catch a glimpse of the freak show Hal thinks.

Dai replies, so loudly so that all will hear, "See you later, brother."

Dai isn't ashamed to be associated with Hal. He isn't ashamed of Hal because there is nothing for him to be ashamed of. What they did to Hal was entirely against his will/

It was unlucky but it wasn't fatal. Hal's still here, he's still alive, and there is nothing wrong with him. He's the same Hal that they all knew, the one they still know, and nothing will ever change that.

* * *

As Hal lowers his eyes down upon Maggie, sitting on a long, green, empty bench alone he pauses and for a moment he considers turning around and leaving her as he had found her. He decides that he won't run away, this time, and so he moves towards her.

"I thought that I might find you here." he announces, as he steps towards her.

He thought that he might find her down here because it's much more quieter down here, in this part of Charleston. It's almost peaceful.

Maggie stands from where she had previously rested the moment her eyes had set down upon Hal. He is the last person that she had expected to come looking for her.

When his eyes flicker towards the bruise still on Maggie's cheek he appears to almost flinch. He straightens up his posture and tightly clenches his jaw together.

"Why is that?" Maggie asks.

Hal hesitates before, as he steps towards Maggie, he asks, "It's quiet down here...I came to find you tonight and your, uh, your roomies said you'd moved out?"

All that Hal can think as he stands before Maggie is how he must control himself. It's better this way. He won't hurt her this way. It's all for the best. Deep down, he knows that it is for the best. But that doesn't mean that it's any less painful.

Maggie replies, sharply, "Yeah, I did."

With a slight curiosity, Hal asks, "To where?"

Maggie begins, "Tector had a spare bed, since we lost..."

She trails off however as the loss of Boon is still painfully fresh to all. Hal remembers losing Boon. He will never forget that moment.

"I remember." he says, with a much colder tone.

He does remember it. Hal remembers everything. He remembers things that he wishes he could forget.

"So..." Hal begins. He pauses to release a small sigh before he continues, "So...You and..."

"Don't, Hal." Maggie tells him; she shakes her head slightly as she asks.

"No, no. I'm just curious." Hal replies.

But Hal isn't simply curious. The thought of Maggie begin with anyone else but him not only holds the power to drive him insane but it also causes him great pain.

The dark silence, which seems to creep up in a lot of their recent conversations, appears again. Hal breaks it, though, asking the second question that had been running through his thoughts since he'd found out.

"So..." he begins. "You're hanging around the Berserkers now?" he asks; as he speaks Hal cannot help but think that Maggie is right back where she started, when the found her, in a gang and he believes that it is his fault.

"I guess..." she nods.

Hal watches as Maggie briefly lowers her gaze down onto the spot on the floor which had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room to Maggie at this moment. When she finally lifts her gaze she finds that Hal is watching her, as he used to.

"That's how you got locked up?" Hal asks.

When he was in the cafeteria earlier Hal had heard a few of the soldiers talking about it.

"Mmm..." she replies.

"Stealing weapons?" he questions; as he speaks he still continues to watch Maggie. When he receives silence from Maggie, telling him that she wasn't trying to steal weapons, he pauses. "If not weapons, then what?" he asks.

Again, Maggie remains silent and from the look on her face he has his answer: drugs.

"Drugs?" Hal asks; as he speaks his expression contorts into one of shock and pain. "Jesus, Maggie." he sighs, loudly. "Drinking an drugs-" he begins.

"Don't, Hal." she says, sharply, and it's almost like she's warning him.

"Why?" Hal asks; as he speaks he follows Maggie who has taken a step past him and begun walking away.

"Why now?" she asks; as she speaks she still continues to walk away from him. "Why do you care?" she asks.

Hal moves so that he is standing in front of Maggie, blocking her path. He says, "Don't answer my question with a question."

Hal hesitates before he says, with a softer tone, "Maggie...I want to know if I'm the reason-"

"What, Hal?" she asks. "If you're the reason I tried to steal some junk from the med cabinet to shoot up my veins? Well you're not and I didn't use." she say; as she speaks she appears to get angrier with every word.

Hal can't do this to Maggie. He can't push her away and then act like he cares. It's destroying, tormenting and haunting her.

"Maggie..." he says, softly. "I just want to help." he says.

Hal never wanted to hurt Maggie. He only wanted to push her away so that he could protect her but he's done the complete opposite of that. He pushed her away and into the arms of the Berserkers, alcohol and drugs. And now, Maggie wouldn't listen to him. Now, she wouldn't let him help her.

"You're the one who pushed me away." Maggie states; as she speaks she takes a step back, away from Hal. "Because you didn't feel anything so don't come back two days later asking me if I'm sleeping with Tector because that's none of your business, not anymore."

Hal believes that he deserves this. He deserves all of this because he's the one who made the mistake of pushing her away and now as he watches her he wishes that he could take every word back. He wishes he could take it all back; hurting Matt, Maggie and his father. He wishes that everyone that they had ever lost would return to them.

Hal wishes, now, as he stands alone staring blankly down at the empty spot where Maggie had previously stood that he could close his eyes and wake up with Maggie in the fields of purple and they could just be together. There would be no interruptions, no pain and no anger here. There would be nothing bad there because the bad things didn't exist anymore.

A peaceful, comfortable silence would float between them as Hal would hold Maggie, just as he wants to hold her now, and they would always stay that close because they're partners. That's what partners are supposed to do. They are supposed to look after each other and take care of one another. What's happening, between them right now, is the opposite of what partners do.

* * *

Maggie's eyes flicker up from her untouched bowl of soup towards Hal who she finds walking alone towards the cafeteria. She had been careful to avoid him after their previous encounter and she had almost gone a day without running into him but they were destined to see each other again. They couldn't avoid that.

As Hal walks into the cafeteria Maggie notes that his hazel eyes hold a new darkness that wasn't there when she first met him. She notices that his eyes seem to move around the room as though he is glancing at those who are blatantly staring at him. All those that Hal walk past either stare at him obviously or discretely and they all whisper words to others.

Maggie's thoughts of Hal are broken by Tector who steps towards her table. "This seat taken?" he asks; he points down to the seat in front of her.

"No." Maggie answers, with a simple shake of her head.

With a small smile, Tector replies, "Thanks."

Maggie glances up at Tector as she says, "You want this?"

Tector hesitates as he glances at her untouched bowl. "You still sick?" he asks.

Maggie falls silent for a moment as he gaze unintentionally finds Hal who has taken a seat a few tables to the left of them, beside Dai and Anthony. She watches Hal for another moment before she releases a deep sigh.

"Uh...No." she replies.

Maggie had fallen into a denial, of sorts, after Anne had found the swollen lymph node in her armpit. She hadn't returned to Anne or to the med rooms because she didn't see the point in doing such a thing. They don't have the right equipment here to find out if she has a tumor. They don't have MRI's or scans. They can't tell her if the cancer in her brain is back and even if they could Maggie doesn't want to know.

Despite that the idea of the cancer being Maggie is slowly kill Maggie's insides she doesn't want to know. She can't know because if she were to learn that it had returned she would break entirely into pieces that could never possibly be repaired.

All that Maggie thinks about is the possibility of the cancer being back and Hal; if she's being entirely honest with herself Hal Mason never leaves her thoughts for a second. When she closes her eyes, she can see him and usually the memories are happy but lately they have not been.

Dai glances up towards Hal to find him staring silently out into the distance. Since sitting down with them, Hal hadn't appeared to be paying any attention to the conversation whatsoever and had barely spoken more than a few words.

"How's it going, brother?" Dai asks.

Hal pauses before he answers, "Fine. It's fine. All fine."

As he finishes speaking, Hal meets Dai's gaze who he finds is watching him with a great amount of curiosity in his eyes. Dai turns around, slowly, to look into the direction which Hal was so intently staring off at. It doesn't surprise him at all to find Maggie seated, in that direction. As Maggie catches sight of his gaze, Dai simply smiles at her and turns back to face Hal.

After swallowing a mouthful of food, Anthony asks, "I thought she was your girl, Hal?"

"She..." Hal begins but he falls silent.

Hal is not entirely sure how he should answer such a question. Maggie was his girl, he thinks, and his partner. But he had ruined it and now she wasn't. Hal wasn't sure what to think about the two of them, and their situation, anymore.

Hal glances down at the plate before him and loses the little appetite he had seconds earlier as his eyes flicker down to the silver knife resting beside his plate. In this moment the whole cafeteria, and everyone in it, seems to fade away and all that Hal can see is the flash of silver of the knife and then he sees the blood and the sight of him causes him to want to throw up so much that he throws up his insides.

The hauntings replaying before Hal's eyes are stopped as he suddenly becomes aware of a large commotion. As he re-opens his eyes Hal finds that a large group has formed by the bottom of the escalators.

Hal, Dai and Anthony stand simultaneously and slowly move towards the crowd. Tector, who has also just noticed the crowd, glances towards Maggie who stands from the table.

"You finish that." she tells him. "I'll go." she adds.

Maggie knows that Tector hasn't eaten for days and she's been worrying about him a lot and so she's going to do her best to slowly coax him back into eating.

As she moves towards the group, Maggie catches a brief glimpse of Pope. He nods slowly at her but does nothing else. Slowly, she turns away from him and continues moving towards the crowd.

Maggie catches a glimpse of Pope, in the cafeteria, as she stands. He nods at her, slowly, and does nothing else. She turns away from him, and walks towards the group that has formed. As she reaches the group Maggie stops as she becomes frozen with her emotions. She stops because she recognises one of the many faces who has stepped through to meet Bressler - Reece Cane.

His brown hair is longer than she'd remembered, down to his shoulders, and his face is covered with new, and old, scars. His blue eyes find Maggie's immediately because he could never miss her eyes in a crowd. Her brown eyes; so empty, and dark, that he knew so well. And still, after all of these years apart, he can still see the darkness in her eyes. It'll never leave them. They both know that.

Maggie had not expected to see Reece Cane ever again and now as she does see him all of her feelings return. These feelings are not for Reece but for her son. Reece's eyes remind her of her boys eyes; the lightest shade of blue mixed with the tiniest spots of brown. They swirled like small, shallow pools glistening with light - almost glistening with gold.

And instead of speaking to Reece or to anyone else, Maggie backs away and she turns and runs because it's something that she does so incredibly well. Maggie's breathing deepens greatly as the hauntings return. They are accompanied by a thick, black trail of darkness which cruelly laughs at her weaknesses and her inability to fight any longer. She can't breathe properly now but she is so desperate to now allow her emotions to show to another soul.

All of it is too much, in this moment, for Maggie to contain. There is too much pain here. The memory of her son is both beautiful and yet so incredibly painful. Maggie's suffocating in the memories that are trying to drown her. She spins around the room searching for an exit or a place of solitude.

Suddenly, Maggie feels a strong, forceful arm pull her away from the crowd. She doesn't know who it is or where they are taking her because she's in her own little world with darkness and hauntings and horrible monsters which will haunt you until they are able to hunt you down.

These monsters will haunt you regardless of whether it is day or night and regardless of whether your eyes are closed or shut. They are always there and they always will remain. You cannot fight them. You cannot outrun them. Maggie is too weak to outrun them. Her heart can't take it.

As Maggie's eyes re-opens she finds herself almost entirely submerged in the dark. There is no sound here. The only light seems through a crack in the blind and falls onto the floor.

"Drink this." a voice tells her.

When Maggie refocuses her eyes she finds Dai kneeling down in front of her with a glass of water in her hands.

Maggie coughs, several times, to clear her throat before she takes the glass and drinks from it. "Thanks." she says, after a moment.

Dai pauses before he takes a seat beside Maggie, on the bed. "You okay?" he asks, finally.

"I'm fine." Maggie answers, quickly.

Dai hesitates before he asks, "You know that guy out there?"

He asks with curiosity but also with concern because he had watched as Maggie had backed away upon catching sight of the new arrival.

She nods, simply. "I guess you could say that."

Maggie never really truly knew Reece. They'd met each other when their lives were both at such lows. He never talked much about his past. Reece had been using, everything he was able to get his hands on, when Maggie met him and he'd sucked her into his life with promises of numbness and feeling nothing and so he had drained away what little life she had left from the cancer.

"Thanks, uh..." Maggie pauses and sighs, softly, before she continues, "For pulling me outta there."

"No problem, Maggie." Dai replies, quickly. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on? And don't tell me nothing because I'm not stupid." he adds.

Maggie nods once before she closes her eyes and releases a longer, deeper breath. "Take care of Hal, okay?" she asks; as she speaks she stands quickly from the bed, a little too quickly, causing her head to spin slightly.

Dai is on his feet in seconds ready to help Maggie if she needs him to. He watches her with such concern that it causes Maggie to feel guilty.

"You okay?" he asks.

Maggie carries so much guilt alongside the darkness and pain and she believes that she will always carry it. This guilt is over the loss of Robbie, her mother and father, her boy and then her loss of Hal.

"I was sick. Ate something bad. Look, Dai, I'm fine, really. Can you - Please, take care of Hal, okay?" she asks; she takes a step back from Dai as she speaks.

With a puzzled expression on his features, Dai asks, "It sounds like you're leaving?"

As she meets Dai's gaze, Maggie replies, "Yeah...Well, nothing is certain."

The life is long gone from Maggie's pale, bruised and scarred face, just as it is gone from her eyes. As Dai watches Maggie leave the room he's so uncertain if the life will ever return.

* * *

As Weaver steps towards Pope, who is filling up a tray for himself after returning Benjamin his plate, he pauses before he says, "Pope, how's it going?"

Pope answers, quickly "He's doing well."

Weaver nods. "That's great." he says. "I'm real glad you got him back." he adds.

"Yeah, me too..." Pope begins. "I uh..." he adds.

Pope pauses as he releases a small breath of air. In his moment of silence he is trying to think of a way to thank Captain Weaver for everything that he has done and to apologise but before the words pass his lips his attention is pulled towards two soldiers, moving down the hallway, with a disheveled woman with dark brown hair, sunken in and pale cheeks and empty blue eyes. He casts a quick look over her skinny arms, which are covered with thick bandages, before he calls out.

"Jane?" Pope calls out; he speaks much louder than he'd expected to.

Weaver follows Pope as he becomes a little concerned about where it is Pope is going and who exactly it is that he is going after.

"Jane." he calls out, louder this time with an unusually shaky voice for a man with such confidence, and at times such arrogance, as Pope.

This can't be real. It can't be happening. It's all a delusion. This isn't his Jane because she died - Benjamin had told him that.

Pope reaches out to grab Jane's hand, so that he may stop her from walking away, and as his fingers touch hers she spins around with eyes filled with horror, confusion and pain.

One of the soldiers escorting Jane pushes Pope backwards, away from Jane.

In retaliation, Pope angrily shoves the soldier away from him. He doesn't care about the consequences of such a move. He cares only about Jane.

"Don't touch me, boy." Pope warns the boy; he doesn't appear to be older than nineteen.

"You know that woman?" Weaver asks Pope.

Pope pauses before he answers, "My ex-wife."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late-ish reply!  
Just a big thank you to everyone who reads this, follows, favorites and reviews, thank you so much. It means so much, and it makes my day to see that people are enjoying this. You are all awesome, thank you very much.**

**Also, Dear Guest, who posted on chapter 18:  
Thank you so much for your review. I'm really glad that you like how I've taken Hal from being so strong and secure to scared and insecure. Thank you so much for reading! And I'm really glad that you are liking the drastic changes to Hal, and that you loved it. Thanks so much.**

**I hope that you enjoy this one, I will try my hardest to update two tomorrow.**

**Also, please tell me what you think about the new additions/characters?**

**Enjoy :) Xxx**


	21. Time to see if you can reach me

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"I just – I just want to talk to her." Pope says, with a much softer tone.

The soldier, whose expression had hardened when Pope had threatened him, nods slowly. His face changes to something similar to empathy.

With a hint of a friendly smile, he answers, "Come with me. I'll see what I can do."

Pope nods, once, and returns the smile with his own smile of appreciation. He thanks the soldier and follows him as he is led past the medical rooms and down into a deeper part of Charleston that Pope has never been to before.

Pope is led towards a room but ordered to wait outside. After five minutes of anxiously waiting, a man in a white coat finally steps out of the room. As he catches sight of Pope he smiles warmly and introduces himself as Doctor Matheson.

"John Pope." Pope says, introducing himself as he quickly shakes the man's hand.

"You're Jane's ex-husband?" he questions.

Pope nods, once, and draws in a sharp breath of air before he says, "I was told, by my son, that Jane had died."

Doctor Matheson nods. "Yes, well, when we found her she was almost dead. You see, John...Jane's condition is fragile."

The frown on Pope's expressionless face deepens. He's trying his hardest to keep his emotions locked inside but's he's battling with them and he is extremely fearful of losing.

"Fragile?" Pope asks, finally.

"Yes." he answers. "On several occasions, she has attempted to kill herself. She's on watch for most of the day." he adds, with a softer, sadder tone.

Pope begins, but is uncertain of how to continue. "What, uh….what caused-"

"Jane is traumatized, deeply, and she's also very depressed. She's on medication for the depression, but she won't talk to anyone…." Doctor Matheson informs him..

After allowing a second of silence to pass, Pope asks, "She'll be okay, won't she?"

Doctor Matheson hesitates before he releases a small sigh. "There's only so much medication can do. There's no guarantee that she'll ever be okay. She has a very difficult time determining what is real and what isn't real. I thought that I'd inform you of that before you went in to see her." he says, holding Pope's gaze as he speaks.

"The medication can only do so much….There's no guarantee that she'll ever be okay. She also has a problem determining what is real, and what isn't. I thought that I'd inform you of that, before you went in to see her," He tells Pope.

"Oh, and a soldier will be with you at all times. For your protection, and hers." Matheson adds.

Pope shakes his head, quickly. "No." he says. "I want to see her alone. Is that okay?" he asks.

"She's attacked three soldiers, so far." Matheson replies, quickly. "I don't think it's safe." he sighs.

"She knows me." Pope insists. "She won't hurt me." he says.

After a moment of deep and silent consideration, Doctor Matheson finally nods and steps towards the door, opening it for Pope. He signals for the two soldiers to leave the room, and they do.

"If you need anything, at all, call out. We'll be right outside the door." One of the soldiers whisper, as they pass Pope.

"Er...Thanks." Pope replies.

The room is small and dull. With the exception of the bed in the middle of the room, it is empty. All objects which may be deemed as potentially dangerous have been removed from the room. There is, however, a photograph stuck with tape to the wall: a photograph of Pope, Jane, Benjamin and his daughter Sophie.

As his eyes take in every detail of the photograph, he draws in such a tight breath of air that his lungs hurt. His eyes shift towards Jane who he finds sitting on the edge of her bed. She rests so lifelessly, as though there is absolutely no life and no energy left inside of her.

She glances up to Pope, slowly, and casts a look over him. She watches him for a moment like he is a stranger, like his face is unfamiliar to her.

Pope steps slowly, cautiously, towards Jane and is careful to watch her as he does. She watches him, intently, as he moves towards her and she looks at him as though she is trying to decide if he is her friend or enemy.

As he moves closer, and she is able to lock her eyes with him, she knows him.

"John?" she whispers, weakly.

His eyes are the same eyes that _always_ fill her dreams.

She stands, abruptly, from the bed and rushes towards the wall with bony, shaking hands reaching towards the photograph taped to it. She pulls it down, as quickly as she can, and turns to Pope. She holds the photograph up beside him so that she may compare the man in the photograph to the man standing in front of her.

"Yeah." Pope nods, clearing his throat. "It's me." he adds.

"John." she repeats his name, with more certainty.

Her eyes, so beautiful and so green, shine with the threat of tears which quickly spill onto her pale cheeks. She mumbles something inaudible before she lifts her hand to her mouth and covers it. She covers it like she is trying to stop herself from gasping, or screaming. She's shaking now - not because she's cold or scared but because she can't possibly believe that it's real.

"No, it's not John." she says, quickly, shaking her head as she speaks. "You're not John." she tells him. "John would - no, you're not real." she says; as she speaks she steps away from him and now watches him as though he isn't her friend at all but rather an enemy, an imposter.

"Jane..." Pope sighs. "I'm John." he tells her.

But she won't hear it, she won't believe it, because this man has to be lying.

Jane shakes her head, once, and with such a saddened and defeated tone she whispers, "No."

"Look..." Pope begins; as he speaks he begins to unbutton his shirt.

He unbuttons it, halfway, until a rose tattoo near his ribs is revealed. Jane Rose. He'd gotten it for her, when they were teenagers, and he only hopes that she remembers it.

"You see this?" he asks. "Jane Rose. I got it, for you." Pope adds.

Jane lowers her gaze down towards the rose for a minute. She steps towards him with uncertainty and slightly shaking hands which reach for the tattoo. She brushes her fingers along the rose and as she does some of the memories come back.

Her fingers find the deep, faded scar underneath the rose tattoo and as she traces it she knows that it is John. He almost died the night he got that scar - he was stabbed in a bar fight standing up for Rose against. It was how they met and she remembers that night so well.

"You remember now, don't you, Jane?" he asks.

The desperation in his voice frightens Pope. He'd swore that he'd never let himself feel this again but here he was and all he could feel was the pain and the darkness and the longing to have her back.

Jane nods, her lip quivers slightly, as tears slide down her cheeks and fall on to her lips. John steps towards her and embraces her, tightly, and as he does she lifts her arms around his neck and holds him.

"You're real..." she whispers, in his ear.

"I'm real." he repeats.

"They - the children..." Jane begins. "Soph...Ben...The aliens - all of the aliens. The aliens. They got them." Jane says, stuttering so frequently.

She pulls herself out of Pope's arms, which she finds such comfort in, and looks up at him. "They're dead." she admits, sadly. "They - I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I lost our babies." she whispers, through deep sobs.

Pope takes a step towards Jane, to comfort her, but she steps away instantly.

"Sophie?" he asks.

Jane simply nods, once. "The cancer..." she mumbles.

Pope knows immediately what it is that she is talking about. His daughter, Sophie, had Leukemia. She was weak before the aliens came. Her treatment wasn't working as well as they'd hoped but they still held hope.

He lowers his gaze towards the ground and as he does he feels like everything is shattering around him, falling to pieces, and he doesn't care. His little girl is dead, she's gone, and there is nothing he can ever do to bring her back. His beautiful girl is gone and he'll never get her back.

Jane mutters, softly, "And Ben..."

Pope bites down on his bottom lip, angrily, as he draws in a tight breath. "Benjamin's alive." he says, finally, with such a quiet voice.

The anger and the fear return to Jane's eyes as she hears these words, these words that she does not believe. She shakes her head. "No, he's not." she says. "You're lying. He's dead." she adds.

"Jane, Benjamin is-" Pope begins.

"He's dead!" she yells, so loudly and with such pain. "Don't lie to me, John. Don't ever lie to me again!" she yells.

The soldiers outside of the room enter the room, now, and as they do they find Jane pacing the room. Pope stands a few feet away from her, watching her helplessly and with concern.

"Don't lie!" she says, almost screaming, as she lunges forward at Pope.

The soldiers are fast, though, and they pull her away from Pope before she can reach him. Seeing her this way, in such a state, is a shock to Pope.

Quickly, he is escorted out of the room while Doctor Matheson attempts to calm Jane down.. As he finishes, and once Jane has calmed down, he steps outside to find Pope but he is long gone.

* * *

As Benjamin hears Doctor Glass finishing up in the next room, to his, he calls out, "Doctor Glass."

She steps through his curtains, quickly, with a smile on her features. "Hello, Benjamin." she smiles. "How are you feeling today?" she asks.

"I'm good." he answers, with a small smile. "Have you see my Dad?" he asks. "He was supposed to be back a few hours ago." he adds.

Anne pauses, considering her answer, before she quickly answers, "Yes, I have. He's on kitchen duty, Benjamin, and he should be finished any moment now. Don't worry, he'll come back."

Anne has no idea where Pope is. She doesn't think he has kitchen duty. She can only pray that he'll come back to Benjamin because he needs his father.

As Anne steps out of Benjamin's room she turns around, quickly, and bumps into Tom.

"Hello, Doctor Glass." Tom says, with a smile that Anne finds extremely cute. "I think I've got an appointment with you." he whispers, so only she will hear.

Anne manages a small smile as she shakes her head. "I need you to do something for me, Tom." she says, softly.

"Anything, for you." Tom replies, with no second of hesitation.

Tom doesn't have to think about it, not at all. He would do absolutely anything for Anne.

"I need you to find Pope." she tells him. "And bring him back here, Benjamin's missing him. And, Benjamin's ready to go back to a normal room, wherever that is, and I thought Pope might want to know." she adds.

"Sue." Tom nods. "I'll see you later?" he asks.

Anne smiles, at this, and after pressing a quick kiss to Tom's lips she answers, "See you tonight."

* * *

It doesn't take Tom very long to find Pope; Tom went to Pope's room, first, and after knocking on the closed door several times he had entered and found Pope resting on the very end of his bed with a bottle of whiskey in his hands.

"How do you keep finding that stuff?" Tom asks, in an attempt to break the thick, rock solid ice that is always between the two of them.

Tom shuts the door behind him and steps towards Pope who he guesses, from his appearance, has been drinking for quite a while.

Pope answers, sharply, "What do you want, Mason?"

He isn't in a good mood, at all, and he doesn't want to be around Tom Mason.

As Tom takes a seat down, beside Pope, he says, calmly, "Benjamin wants to see you."

Pope doesn't answer Tom, he hasn't even noticed that Tom has taken a seat beside him, because all that he can think about and all that he can see are his two girls; Sophie and Jane.

He'd lost Sophie, his beautiful little girl, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to bring her back. And his Jane was lost too, he couldn't get her back even as she was in his reach.

All he can think about is how it is his fault, and how he screwed everything up, because if he had been there to protect them this wouldn't have happened. If he had been there, Sophie would be alive, Jane would be okay, and Benjamin wouldn't have gone through the trauma of being harnessed.

This is all his fault. He is to blame for destroying his family and for inflicting pain on them. He'll live with this guilt and this pain until the day he dies because he deserves to.

For the third time, Tom asks, "Are you okay, Pope?"

Pope doesn't answer. He can't. Instead, he shakes his head while leaving his gaze on the floor.

Tom sighs, softly, before he begins, "Pope, whatever it is..."

"What?" Pope asks. "There's a solution? A fix?" he questions. "You know, Mason, your optimism, even when things are really shitty, drives me insane." he says, with a slightly angered tone.

Pope isn't angry at Mason, though. He's so incredibly angry at himself and all that he has failed to do.

"We have to be optimistic or we'll..." Tom begins.

"Go insane?" Pope asks, finishing Tom's sentence. He draws in a tight breath as he stands from the bed. "Yeah, you know, you're probably right about that one. I'll give you that." Pope mutters.

Pope begins to slowly pace the room back and forth and as he does this his chest begins to heave in and out. His emotions, which are all tightly bottled up inside, are driving him insane. They're screaming out at him, wanting so desperately and crazily to be free, and Pope might just let them out if Mason pushes him too far.

Tom stands, slowly, from the bed and says, "Calm down, Pope. It's okay."

With time, something new has grown between Pope and Tom. It's small, tiny and it disappears for most of the time. But sometimes it shows itself and sometimes Tom doesn't ignore it.

There are no words that Tom can find to appropriately describe it; not ally, not friend, not comrade - something. He can't think of the word right now but there is something new there.

"Okay?" Pope asks.

He sounds like he might be sick, as he speaks. "What the hell would you know about okay, Mason?" he asks, angrily, almost growling.

Pope's voice grows louder and angrier with each word that passes his lips.

"She's gone. She's gone. And she's not coming back - she isn't coming back." he mumbles; his voice shifts drastically from the angered, loud one to a low, mumbling almost incoherent one.

Pope continues to pace the room but he's moving slowly, despite that his heart is beating faster than earlier. He can't stop his thoughts of his daughter, his beautiful little girl, with her light brown curls and her beautiful green eyes that were exactly like her mothers.

In one week from today, she would have been six years old.

Pope comes to abrupt stop and as he does he closes his eyes and releases a long, shaky breath of air which he hadn't known that he had been holding so tightly or for so long.

"Who is gone, Pope?" Tom asks, with such a soft voice.

Pope's eyes remain tightly closed as he says, "Sophie. My daughter...I thought that, all of this time, she'd still be alive. I truly believed that I'd see her again and I won't. And she's...She's..."

Pope stops as he finds that he is unable to say another word. his eyes open, quickly, and he finds Mason staring at him sympathetically. This is exactly what he didn't want. He didn't want sympathy, especially not from Tom Mason.

Pope takes a large step away from Mason, shaking his head as he does.

"Don't." Pope says, almost warning him. "Don't say anything, got it?" he threatens. "Not a word." he adds.

Tom begins, "Pope..."

Pope won't hear it, though, he won't listen because he doesn't want to hear another word from Mason.

"Nothing." Pope tells him, and with that single word spoken he hurriedly leaves the room.

There is nothing left; no hope, no faith – only darkness. And absolutely nothing can be done to fight the darkness. It's so overpowering, and so convincing as it calls out, to Pope, calling out for him to come back and to let the darkness back in.

And, in his moment of weakness, Pope almost lets it. It's so close; his hand is on the key, ready to unlock the cage that he is in, ready to let the darkness in entirely. But then, Sophie appears. First, it's just her eyes. So beautiful, so peaceful and pure – then she appears in whole. She's smiling at him, calling out to her daddy.

And then Benjamin appears by her side and he knows now that he can't let the darkness in. Not today. He won't be able to fight it off forever, he knows that, but for now he can send it back to where it came from. For today he'll keep the darkness under control. But, every day is a new start and he's not entirely sure that tomorrow he'll be able to fight it off.

* * *

As Reece moves through the cafeteria he catches sight of Maggie moving towards him. He grins, and steps towards her. "Fancy seeing you here." he says, loudly.

Maggie stops walking, quickly, and glances towards him to find that he is wearing new clothes now and after a shower he doesn't look as dirty as he did when he'd entered Charleston.

She doesn't say anything to Reece, not a single word, instead she simply stares at him like she's expecting it to be a dream. She looks at him as though he isn't real because he can't be real. He can't be here because he just brings back pain, and many other feelings that Maggie can't deal with at the moment.

Finally, she speaks. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

She finds that all that she can do now is look in his eyes. His eyes that remind her of her boys. And it's killing her, slowly, because she can't look in these eyes without being overwhelmed entirely with emotions she'd rather not feel because not feeling anything is better than being overwhelmed with pain.

Maggie's voice is raw, and slightly shaky, and she prays that Reece doesn't notice but he does.

"I thought I'd pop in after hearing talks of a revolution in the _fantastic_ new Charleston." Reece answers, and as he speaks she can hear the sarcasm and resentment ringing in his voice.

Maggie simply nods and lowers her eyes down to the floor. She hesitates before she looks back up at him. She finds that he is already watching her.

"Well, aren't you going to say something?" he asks, a small frown appearing on his forehead as he speaks.

"Like what?" she asks; she crosses her arms as she speaks and despite her instincts, which are telling her to lower her gaze, she keeps her eyes locked with his.

"Like..." he begins, drawing out the word. "It's good to see you, Reece. I'm glad to see you're still alive, Reece." he suggests, taking a step forward as he speaks so that he is right up in Maggie's face. "Let's catch up, like old times, Reece?" he whispers.

"No." Maggie answers, sharply, as she pulls away from Reece. "Not like old times." she says.

"Oh, come on." Reece sighs, loudly. "We're survivors, Maggie. We've survived so much together..." he persists, stepping closer towards Maggie. He whispers, in her ear, "We survived prison..."

Those few words cause Maggie to snap; she, harshly, shoves Reece away from her because she doesn't want to be close to him. She can't be close to him. She can't be around him.

In no way, whatsoever, does Maggie believe that she survived prison. Prison killed her. Prison let the darkness in.

Maggie knows that she is a fighter but in no way is she a survivor. She hasn't survived anything because survivors grow stronger and eventually move on. Maggie might get stronger with time but she won't ever move on - not now, and definitely not without Hal Mason by her side.

Reece, however different he might look, has not changed in the slightest way. He steps towards Maggie, standing as close to her as he can, before he grabs her left hand tightly.

He whispers, tauntingly, in her ear, "You remember old times, don't you, Mags?"

Despite how badly she wishes she didn't remember the old times, she remembers them all too well. She remembers Reece being drunk, and high, and she remembers that it was a deadly combination which lead to him going insane.

Hal, who has only just stepped in on the conversation, asks, "You okay, Maggie?"

Reece drops Maggie's hand immediately and spins around to face the man who has spoken. He comes to view a dark haired, young man, who looks very tired and almost sick.

"I wasn't asking you." Hal replies, sharply, and as he speaks he takes another step towards Maggie.

Hal watches Maggie closely as he moves towards her side.

"Yeah, well, it's all good." Reece says, speaking before Maggie has a chance to.

"Look..." Hal begins. He takes another step towards Maggie, and shifts his gaze towards Reece, as he says, threateningly, "I don't know if you're deaf, or stupid, or both - but I wasn't asking you."

"Go on then, Maggie." Reece begins, turning his attention towards Maggie as he speaks. "Tell him you're fine." he says, feeding her the words just as he used to feed her the drugs and alcohol.

Maggie nods, slowly. "Yeah..." she begins. She pauses to cough, to clear her throat, and then says, "I'm fine, Hal."

Hal nods once as he looks from Maggie to Reece. Then, he glances back towards Maggie who he notes looks extremely uncomfortable.

"You want to take a walk, Maggie?" Hal asks.

Hal wants to help Maggie get out of this situation. He wants to protect her because that's all that he has ever wanted.

She shakes her head. "Nah...I'm good." Maggie answers.

Her answer not only surprises Hal, because he doesn't understand why she would want to stay with this man, but it also causes him to feel a small pang of jealously.

"Really?" Hal asks, clearly confused by her answer.

"Look..." Reece sighs, loudly. "I don't know if you're deaf, or stupid, or both - but she said she'd rather stay here." Reece says, mimicking what Hal said a few seconds earlier.

"You know, uh..." Hal begins, a smile playing on his lips. "I could snap your neck like a twig." he warns him. Still with the smile on his face, he says, "So, don't push it."

"Really?" Reece asks, with a mocking smile. "Go on, tough guy." he says. "I'm pushing you. So, do it, porcupine." he adds, referring to the spikes which stick out of Hal's back.

"Really?" Reece asks, with a mocking smile. "Go on, tough guy, I'm pushing you. So do it, porcupine," Reece adds, referring to the spikes that stick out of Hal's back.

And those few words are enough to cause Hal to snap. He can't control it and he doesn't want to. He grabs Reece by the colour of his shirt and slams him violently into the wall behind him. He pushes him in to the wall with such a strong force that Reece is sure to get a nasty bruise from the impact.

Maggie, who is at Hal's side in seconds, attempts to pull him away from Reece. "Hal." she says.

Hal's hand wraps tightly around Reece's throat and as it does he can hear Maggie speaking but he doesn't understand a word that she has said. It all fades away in to a darkness which is all too familiar and haunting for Hal.

Pope, who had been silently observing the conversation until now, steps in to save the day again. He wraps his arms tightly up and underneath Hal's armpits, lifting him up and pulling him away from Reece.

As Hal is pulled away from him, Reece drops to the ground and begins gasping for air.

"What the hell - you freak!" Reece shouts out, loudly.

Through deep breaths, as he struggles in Pope's arms, Hal angrily says, "Let me go. Let me go."

"Okay, okay." Pope says.

Slowly, he releases Hal from his grip and as he releases him and allows Hal to stand on his own, Pope shoves Hal in the direction of a nearby room, his room.

"Get in it." Pope says, shoving him forward again and causing him to lose his balance.

Hal stops moving and glances back at Pope with a frown on his features.

"Go." Pope orders.

When Hal doesn't move, Pope sighs and pushes Hal, with much more force, towards the room.

"Okay! Okay!" Hal says, with his hands held up in the air.

He sighs, loudly, and with reluctance he steps inside Pope's room.

"What are you doing?" Hal asks, once Pope is also inside the room.

Pope doesn't answer Hal for a minute. Instead, he walks towards his bed and lifts up his mattress so that he may pull out a bottle of whiskey.

"Thought you could use a drink..."Pope begins, turning towards Hal as he speaks. "Seeing as how you went off like a freakin' rocket out there. And, besides, the soldiers are probably looking for you now considering you're a raz-" he mutters but falls silent before he finishes what he was saying.

But it doesn't matter that he'd stopped speaking early, Hal knows what he was going to say. He was going to call him a razorback. Hal doesn't care in the least what Pope or anyone else thinks of he or his brother.

"Since when do you care?" Hal asks, still wearing a frown.

Pope manages a small smirk as he pulls off the lid off of the bottle and swallows a large mouthful of whiskey.

As he shoves the bottle towards Hal, Pope says, "Trust me. I don't care."

Hal takes the bottle with no hesitation and swallows a larger mouthful than Pope did.

"He's got a real talent for rubbing people the wrong way." Pope says; as he speaks he practically snatches the bottle from Hal's grip so that he may get another sip.

"You know him?" Hal asks, watching Pope as he drinks from the bottle.

Pope shakes his head while still sipping from the bottle. As he finishes he lets out a small sigh. "Personally?" No. But from stories? Yeah, suppose so."

Hal takes the bottle back from Pope, without asking, and asks, "Whose stories?"

"Margaret's." Pope answers.

As he drinks from the bottle, a deeper frown appears on his face. By this reaction, Pope gathers that Hal has no idea who Reece is.

"You don't know who he is?" Pope asks, sounding almost surprised.

Hal shakes his head, quickly. "Should I...?" he asks.

He takes another sip of whiskey before he passes the bottle back to Pope and waits for an answer.

"He's a real ass." Pope says. He pauses before he says, "He's also the, uh...father, of M..."

Hal knows what the rest of the words to that sentence are: Reece is the father of Maggie's boy.

"Him?" Hal asks, unable to hide his surprise.

"Yeah..." Pope mutters. "He's a real piece of work." he mumbles, to himself.

Pope lifts his gaze to meet Hal's and draws in another, long breath. "You see, Mason Junior...Our boy out there, Reece, he's uh...He's an ass. There's no other way to put it. No other word - Well, maybe prick by be appropriate. But, uh, you see. He's got this...what should I call it? From the way Mags spoke about her time with him, he's got this strange, toxic hold over her." he says.

And that's all that Pope is willing to say on the subject because it isn't his place to tell Hal her story; Maggie's very complicated, dark, haunting and sad story.

"What I'm saying is keep an eye on him and on her, alright." he says. "Now...Get outta here." he says, with a much more irritable tone.

Hal leaves the room, silently. He knows that he'll keep the promise that he made to himself and the one that he made silently to Maggie - the promise that he will always protect her, he will always watch over her, and he will always be there for her.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has read/reviewed/favorite-ed/followed. It seriously means so much, and I am so happy you are still enjoying this one. **

**Enjoy.**


	22. It's time to leave me

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"Maggie?" Anne calls out, as she opens the door to Tector and Maggie's room.

Anne had run into Tector, down at the kitchens, and he'd told her that Maggie was in their room. Anne could see, just by talking to Tector, that he was concerned for her, and cared for her greatly. She was glad that, at least if Maggie wouldn't talk to anyone, she wasn't completely alone and that Tector was there, if she needed.

But, Anne had worried about Maggie in every free moment that she had, in every moment that she wasn't worrying about Ben, Matt and Tom, Lourdes, Hal and all of her patients. Her mind was filled with constant worrying. But, there were moments where the worrying faded away, for a few seconds, and these moments were usually spent with Tom; moments when they would hold each other.

"Maggie?" Anne calls out, again.

She spots Maggie, on the edge of her bed, her head in her hands. She looks up at Anne, instantly.

"How are you doing?" Anne asks, as she walks towards Maggie.

She stands from the bed, and pushes her hair behind her ears.

"Fine. I'm fine," Maggie answers.

"How are you?" She asks.

"I'm okay. I've been worrying about you, Maggie," Anne admits.

Maggie shakes her head, "You don't have to."

"Well, someone has to, Maggie," Anne says, as she takes a few steps closer to Maggie.

"I'm fine." She insists.

"Really? Because that is the third time you've said you're fine, in less than sixty seconds," Anne says, with a small, friendly smile.

Anne lets out a small sigh, before she says, "Maggie…I need you to come in, I think – I'm almost certain that the swollen lymph node in your armpit has been caused by Cellulitis. It's an infection, and if you'd just let me look at your arm, I could give you a proper-"

Maggie shakes her head, as she cuts Anne off, "I don't – No. I don't want to talk about this."

"Denial isn't going to-"

"Isn't going to what? Fix anything? I just – I can't deal with this Anne, not now. I'm just – I can't….Things are so crazy," Maggie says, still shaking her head.

Her hands are trembling slightly, and she's breathing faster.

"There's just – what am I supposed to do? What if it is cancer? What if the cancer is back and its spread? There is no way I could get the right treatment in this world," Maggie says, with an unsteady voice.

"Maggie, there is a good chance that it is cellulitis," Anne says, as she steps closer to Maggie.

"You don't have to go through this alone, Maggie. There are people here that care about you, you have friends to support you," Anne tells her.

Maggie scoffs, loudly. She smiles, like she finds it amusing.

Maggie shakes her head, as she says, "No, I don't. I really don't."

"You might think you don't, but you do. The Second Mass is like your family,"

"No, it's not. My family is dead, Anne. My entire family is dead. And – And Hal – Hal's gone. I've lost Hal. I don't have anyone, at all. But, there's a chance I have cancer….Oh god…I must sound so pathetic to you," Maggie says, her eyes are firmly glued to a spot on the floor.

Maybe if she stares at it, long enough, Anne will give up and leave.

Anne won't give up, though, not now. She won't give up on Maggie.

"You don't sound pathetic, Maggie. You sound like someone who-"

"Is in the process of a mental break?" Maggie suggests.

Anne shakes her head, "Someone who has been through a lot, and needs some peace."

"I've waited, years, for peace. And you know I had a few seconds of it with Hal. But that's long gone. And – I don't have peace," She says, softly.

"You know…. I haven't slept properly, in years. The few nights I did, it was with Hal by my side. But now, I'm lucky if I get two hours a night….." Maggie trails off; she takes a step back, away, from Anne.

"I'm just – I'm exhausted. I can't do this…..I can't, Anne," Maggie says.

"I know, I know," Anne says, gently.

She walks towards Maggie, and wraps her arms around her, tightly. After a few seconds, Maggie lifts her hands to Anne's back, and rests them there. Then, she closes her eyes, as she tries to find some peace. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're going to be okay," Anne whispers, soothingly, as she smooths down Maggie's hair.

"And, if the cancers back?" Maggie asks, so quietly that Anne can only just hear the words.

Anne says, softly, "We'll fight it, together; you, me, and the whole Second Mass."

"John?" Jane calls out, desperately, as the door to her room opens.

And, it is John.

He gives her a small, friendly smile, as he steps inside the door. Pope walks towards Jane, slowly and cautiously, not wanting to startle or scare her.

"I'm sorry," She admits.

Pope shakes his head, "Don't be."

He takes a seat, on her small single bed, in front of Jane. Her hands are still shaking, and her arms are still covered with bandages. He knows what lies beneath the bandages; cuts from a knife.

He lifts his hands, slowly, and gently places them down onto Jane's hands. She stares at his hands, silently, for at least three minutes.

"You came back for me," She says, breaking the silence.

She looks up at Pope, with saddened and desperate eyes.

"I told you; always." Pope mutters.

"Jane…." Pope begins; his voice is soft and gentle as he speaks.

"Don't….uh. None of this, anymore okay?" Pope asks, as he indicates towards her arms.

Jane seems frozen, for a minute. She doesn't speak.

"Don't do it anymore, sweetheart, please. Just the thought….." He stops.

It kills him. All of this; all of her pain kills him.

"Ok." Jane nods, after a minute.

"Thank you," Pope whispers.

Jane moves forward, so that she's closer to Pope, and she rests her head against his.

"John?" She says, as she closes her eyes.

"Yes, Jane?" Pope answers.

"I'm sorry…..our children….I'm so sorry," She stutters.

"You couldn't have saved Sophie." Pope says, softly.

Then, after a minute, he says, "Benjamin is alive."

Jane's beautiful green eyes, like emeralds and like Sophie's, open at the mention of her son's name.

Jane shakes her head, and as she does Pope can see a flicker of anger in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, listen to me okay?" Pope says, as he takes her hands firmly in his.

"I would never lie to you, okay? I promise you that. I promise," Pope tells her.

Jane shakes her head, "You did lie. You did lie. You lied – you lied when you said….our vows."

Jane stands from the bed, shakily, pulling her hand out of Pope's, she walks away from him.

Pope closes his eyes, for a second, as he takes in a deep breath.

"Jane…." He says.

He stands from the bed, and follows her to where she is standing.

"Every second, of every day – I regret what I did. I regret it, - if I could take it back, I would…." Pope says, shakily.

The unsteadiness in his voice, and the sorrow, saddens Jane.

She raises her hands, to his cheeks, and rests them there gently; one hand on each cheek, she nods slowly.

"Okay," She whispers, gently.

John has always had a good, pure heart, despite the thick, cruel amour that he guards it with.

"I am so sorry, Jane; for not being there for you, for Sophie, or for Ben. I should've - I should never have left. I should have protected you, and not a second- I'm so sorry…." Pope admits; each word is hard to say, and he finds that he can no longer control his emotions.

His emotions break free, of his armour; shattering parts of it, he closes his eyes as the first tears fall. They feel strange on Pope's face; he keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to see what is in Jane's eyes. He feels Jane's hands, gentle and soft, wiping the tears from his cheeks, and he's forced to open them. Her green eyes are filled with love; forgiveness, but also sadness. Her cheeks are also stained with tears that she hadn't bothered to wipe away.

Jane rests her head, gently against Pope's.

"Do you remember…what you said to me, when you called me the night before our wedding….on your bachelor party?" Jane asks, as she closes her eyes.

Pope's silence gives Jane her answer; of course he remembers.

"You said…..I was your sunlight, you said that I was your glimpse of sunlight, and that as long as I was shining on you, you'd be okay….I feel – now….with you," Jane whispers, slowly.

"My…sunlight. Don't forget that." Jane pleads.

"I won't," Pope answers, truthfully.

"I'll go get Benjamin," He tells her, after a moment.

She nods, and gives him a small smile as he pulls away from her.

"I'll see you soon," She says, softly.

"So, what's this I hear about you nearly breaking some kid's neck, in the cafeteria?" Tom asks, somewhat casually but also awkwardly, as he enters Hal's room.

He'd tried to give Hal space, to give him time, and that meant not pressuring him to talk.

Hal shrugs, like it's nothing, and keeps his eyes focused on a spot on the floor. There's nothing there; that's why Hal is staring, because nothing sounds good now. He'd like to feel nothing. He'd like to remember nothing, and he'd like to be nothing.

"You want to talk about that?" Tom asks, as he walks towards Hal.

"What do you think?" Hal asks, as he stands from the bed.

Hal mutters, "He called me a porcupine….. I could shove a porcupine up his-"

"I think that-" Tom says, speaking loudly so that he stops Hal.

"You should talk to me – or someone. Talk to Maggie, because this can't keep going on," Tom says.

Hal frowns, "What do you mean 'this can't keep going on'?" He asks.

"Don't answer my question with a question, Hal. I know you're avoiding it. You're avoiding talking about what happened to you, out there," He says, moving closer to Hal.

"This guy was harassing Maggie – and I couldn't stand the sight of the two of them together, Dad. It made me feel sick to my stomach. And, you know, I snapped because apparently that's what I do, these days. That's what I do, I snap because I'm a freak show, who tries to kill everyone" Hal says, angrily, as he slowly begins to pace.

"What are you talking about? You're not a freak show-" Tom says, shaking his head as he does.

"You know, Dad, there are these rumours going around all through Charleston, Matt told me – they're about us, about our family. Apparently, when you went on that ship, you made a deal – a deal with the aliens – that in return for you being a spy for the overlords, they'd turn your children into skitters, so we-we could be a part of the new world. And eventually, they'll turn you. That's two out of four Masons who are destined to be skitters….." Hal says, stuttering on a few words.

"You know that's not true," Tom says.

He's outraged by the lies that are spread through Charleston; he's also outraged that in this world people still have the time to spread horrible, untrue rumours.

"I know. But they don't- and they all stare at me. And you know what it feels like? It feels like when they're looking at me, they can see all the things I've done. All of the things I've witnessed. And, they stare at me like I'm a freak show. I see you do it to, and Anne. I don't- and the only person who doesn't do it, is Maggie. But I screwed that up."

"No, Hal. No, don't you ever think like that, okay?!" Tom says, raising his voice as he speaks, he shakes his head.

"You are not a freak show. And I do not look at you like that. I look at you, like you're my son, and I just want to help you." Tom whispers.

Hal hesitates, for a second.

"I just – I just….I can't do this Dad. I can't breathe. I can't sleep – and I just, it's too much. I miss Mum, and I miss Ben and Maggie – and god, I just…. I've done so many bad things Dad, I can't take them back. I can't stop it just replaying, and replaying, and replaying, the….it's always there."

His mind is screaming at him not to tell his Dad; but his heavy heart is telling him to. It might ease the pain. It might, somehow, stop the constant hauntings.

"I want to help you get better – just talk to me, okay son, I'm right here. Just talk to me,"

"Before they put the harness on…" Hal begins.

"Trust me, Hal," Tom says, gently. "Trust me Hal. You need to talk about it.. Tell me what they did, okay? No one else can hear you; it's just you and me."

Hal nods, as he does Tom can see the flicker of fear reignite in his eyes.

He tries to calm himself, but he can't. What he's done; what he's witnessed; what they did to him…it's too much. He feels suffocated, like he can't breathe, like he can't stand. His legs give out on him, and he's silently thankful that Tom is there to catch him.

Tom eases Hal down, onto the cold, icy floor, as he loses his footing. He's not used to seeing his son in such distress; in such mental and physical pain. Tom admits, silently to himself, that he's almost scared to find out what they did to him, or what Hal did.

Hal can almost see the light reflecting off the long, sharp, silver knives. But, these weren't average knives. They were something far superior; something similar to a spear. Except, the blade wasn't simply straight; it ran, straight, for a few centimetres, before curving in, at the bottom.

A deadly weapon, once pressed through a victim's skin, worked similar to a fishing hook. It went right through him.

Hal's grip tightens on his father's arms, as the panic and pain increases.

"They put these hooks…my chest…" He stops, because that's all he can say.

Hal grimaces; he can feel the spear going through him; again, and again, and again. Until he thought he had no blood left to bleed; until he had no voice left to scream. But, he was wrong. He screamed for hours, and he bled and bled until he was drowned in blood. He can't talk about it; he doesn't want to think about it. He already feels his sanity slipping away. He can't lose it all.

"I can't, Dad….I can't, Dad." He says, shaking his head.

"It's ok," Tom whispers soothingly.

He's trying to stay calm, for his boy, but it's hard. Tom is just managing to keep his emotions under control. The thought of them hurting Hal, of putting hooks through his chest…..it kills Tom.

But, the words escape Hal's lips. Not words about what they did to him; it's what he did.

"The harness was on…. I remember Dad. There were these kids….and…and the skitters… they lined them up…" Hal says with a quieter voice.

He isn't looking at Tom as he speaks, he's staring out into a memory; a haunting.

"I remember – I remember it all. Karen was – she was there. She uh, she, wanted me to kill them, to prove my…." Hal says, stuttering on almost every second word.

Hal lifts his gaze now, to meet Tom's.

His father's eyes are filled with something that Hal recognises all too familiar: horror.

But, Hal continues. It's almost out. He's almost free. No, he thinks, never free.

"Whatever you did, when you were harnessed – you had no control over your actions, Hal," Tom tells him.

Hal shakes his head, "But, I think…..did….I think… I think Karen – my harness. Something was – I had – I could …." Hal stops.

He takes in a deep, painful breath, before continuing.

"The mech….killed the children slowly…and, it took so many hours. And then….I snapped…I couldn't…And I-I didn't…my hands….around his neck….I snapped his neck….my bare hands….all the blood," Hal says, as his chest heaves like a man who has run two million miles.

"It's ok, it's ok. You're okay, Hal," Tom says, gently.

He tries to reassure Hal, to let him know that it is okay, but Hal won't listen.

"No, it's not Dad. It's not ok. I killed….I killed them Dad," Hal says, through painful sobs.

"I killed them Dad – there were four…"

Tom pulls Hal, into his chest, and lifts one arm around his back, he holds him in his arms, rocking slowly back and forth, until Hal's breathing slows down.

"It's okay, Hal. You're safe now," Tom tells him, gently.

He is safe, Tom thinks, because he won't another thing happen to Hal. He'll die before he lets anyone, or anything, hurt any of his son's again.

"Shhhh," Tom whispers, still rocking Hal until his breathing is quieter, and his eyes close slowly. "You're safe now."

Tom tries not to think about what Hal told him; he can't, not even for a second, because it eats away at him, from the inside, until there's nothing left to be destroyed, nothing left to be shattered. And he needs to keep his hope, his faith, intact otherwise he'll go mad.

And, Tom already has these fears about Hal. Silent fears that he cannot share with Anne, he cannot share them with anyone yet. Fears that Hal's fragile state is worse than he's letting on; fears that Hal will go mad, from what he's been through. What he can't talk about without becoming almost physical ill. Without shaking, and trembling, and sobbing; he won't lose his son. Tom is determined not to. He'll stand by Hal, always. That's what parents do for their children; they protect them.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to all of you read, review, favorite and follow. It seriously means so much.**

**Dear Guest reviewer - Alice - who posted on Chapter 1.  
Thank you so much! I'm really glad that you are enjoying it. Wow, Mexico! That's really awesome that you read this all the way in Mexico! Greetings from Australia! :)**

**Dear Guest Reviewer - Guest - who posted on Chapter 21  
Thank you so much! I'm really happy to hear that you love this story. I will try to keep up the good work. Thanks!**

**So, let me guys know what you think about this one; about the revelation, and all that happened with Pope and Jane - if you're unhappy with that, I apologize in advance, I felt like it was a necessary thing since she had faced so many horrors and traumatic things that she couldn't tell the difference between reality, and what was in her mind. She only remembered Pope from her memories, she had no recollection or realization that she was living in the real world.**

**Anyway, I hope that you still enjoy this chapter.**

**P.s: I wanted your guys opinion on something.  
So, let's just say that in Season two, the year is 2011? I was going to make it, in my story, that Hal turns 18 very soon, and that Maggie turns 23 because to me, I don't see her being 20 or 21 - but that's just what I think. I know, it's a little older when compared to Hal but I don't mind, if you don't? So the age gap is 5 years? If you guys don't like it, I'll make Maggie 22, and make it a four year gap.**

**Let me know what you think, please.**

**& Enjoy.**

**Xxxx**


	23. Still believe in me

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"What's going on?" Pope frowns, as he steps forward, in front of Benjamin.

Two soldiers are stationed in front of Jane's room; but that's not what has surprised, and confused, Pope. It is the fact that Doctor Glass, and Doctor Matheson, have just stepped out of Jane's room, both with solemn looks on their tired faces.

"Dad, what are we doing here?" Benjamin asks, softly, so only Pope may hear.

Pope looks down at Benjamin slowly, then back up to Doctor Glass. He hadn't told Benjamin where, or who they were going to visit.

"Hi Benjamin,," Anne says, stepping forward with a kind smile on her face.

"Your Dad told me you like to throw a ball around?" Anne asks.

Benjamin looks up, at Pope, before slowly dropping his eyes back to Anne.

"Well, I know this pretty good ball thrower, his name is Matt. Why don't you come and meet him? Maybe the two of you could throw a ball around?" Anne suggests.

As she speaks, she looks up to Pope for any sign of acceptance. He nods slowly.

"I'll be there soon," Pope says, his voice is hoarse and cracks as he speaks.

"Okay Dad," Benjamin says, with a small smile.

He hasn't played with anyone in a while; and he can't hide his excitement for long. On the walk to Matt's room, Benjamin is a chatter box and won't stop talking to Anne.

"Did your Dad teach you how to throw?" Anne asks Benjamin.

His mood seems to dampen, a little, at this.

"No," Benjamin answers, as he shakes his head.

"My Uncle Joe - he taught me how to throw ball," Benjamin adds, with a small hint of a smile.

"How, uh, how is Jane?" Pope asks, finally, when Benjamin is out of earshot.

Doctor Matheson hesitates, for a minute, as he lets out a small sigh.

"John, I uh…my deepest apologies…Jane has passed. She, uh, we were too late..." He answers.

"What do you mean 'too late'?" Pope asks, frowning.

And then it dawns on him - too late to save her.

"She...she killed herself?" Pope stutters.

Doctor Matheson nods, slowly.

"How? I thought she was supposed to be under constant watch from these idiots-"

"I understand your-" Doctor Matheson begins.

"No, you don't. There's a boy out there, who doesn't have a mother any more, because you're all a bunch of incompetent idiots, who didn't do their ONLY job correctly!"

"Excuse me, John, but we did our job correctly. Jane was incredibly unstable, we tried our best with what she would allow us to do. Perhaps, John, you shouldn't throw the blame where it doesn't belong, when you obviously did not do your job properly, as her husband. Or ex-husband," Doctor Matheson answers, sharply.

He regrets it, immediately. Not only is it unprofessional, it's rude and this man has just lost someone very dear to him.

"John...I-"

"Don't." Pope warns him.

Pope's eyes fall down, lifelessly, to the floor. He forgets where he is, and that he is standing in front of Doctor Matheson. All that he can see are the memories, of his girls, replaying in his mind. The guilt, pain and sadness comes crashing down onto Pope's shoulders, like an avalanche of snow, and he can't get out before it crashes him.

"It's good to see you eat something," Weaver says, with a friendly smile, as he walks towards the table that Hal and Tom are sitting at.

Hal isn't hungry, he hasn't been hungry for a while, but with Tom sitting across from him, watching him with those hopeful eyes, Hal knows he has to eat today.

"It's good to eat," Hal mumbles, he isn't sure what he is supposed to say back to that.

A tall, skinny man with short brown hair, that is greying in places, and a short, brown shaggy beard leans down, behind Hal; he adjusts his thick glasses as he does. He's fixated with the spikes on Hal's back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tom asks, angrily, as he stands from the table.

Hal turns around, stiffly, to catch a look at the man, whose eyes stay fixed on the spikes.

"You right?" Hal asks, trying to remain calm.

"Yes – yes – Yes. I, uh, my apologies, this must look completely inappropriate, and impolite," The man mumbles, as he lifts his eyes from Hal's back to Tom's eyes.

"My name- I'm Doctor Roger Kadar," He says, with a small smile that is intended to be a friendly gesture.

Captain Weaver has heard stories, from some of the soldiers, about The Rat King; a mad scientist who lived under ground with his rats whom he keeps for company.

"Doctor Kadar, why were you staring at my son's neck?" Tom asks, trying his best to remain polite.

"The screws of course! If you would allow me to examine all of them – they are fascinating – I have seen nothing quite like it before," He tells them, as his eyes fall back down to the spikes.

Tom shakes his head, his eyes drop from Hal then back to the Doctor.

"He's not one of your lab rats that you can test on. I'm sorry, but no," Tom says.

Hal stands from the table, slowly, he's lost his appetite.

"I do not wish to test on him, Mr Mason, I wish to examine the spikes so that I may determine whether my theory of stopping the process would be correct. I've never seen them, in the flesh," Roger says, his eyes flicker back to the screws.

"You could stop the process?" Hal asks, turning to face Roger.

"It's too dangerous, Hal. You know-." Tom says.

Hal, who is ignoring Tom, keeps his eyes on the Doctor.

"You could stop it?" Hal asks.

"Theoretically, I have a theory which could be used…." Roger answers.

"It's too dangerous," Tom says, still shaking his head.

He won't risk his son's life, he won't lose his son.

"Mr Mason; all new theories have their casualties. That is how we learn. But, it could be successful," Roger says. He looks, awkwardly, from Hal to Tom, and lets out a small sigh.

"Well – you know where to find me, if you wish…It was a pleasure meeting all of you," Roger says, with a small, friendly smile.

"I'll leave you to it," Weaver mutters, as he passes Tom he squeezes his shoulder reassuringly.

"Hal…" Tom begins.

"It's my choice, Dad. What if he's found a way? All de-harnessed kids would be free." Hal says, as he begins to walk out of the cafeteria.

Tom follows after him; and with a voice that is failing at being calm, he says, "It's too risky Hal, you could die."

Hal looks up, from Tom, and to Maggie, who is walking the corridors with Reece by her side, whose neck is bruising, badly. But he doesn't seem to care.

Both Reece and Maggie look up to Hal; Maggie's eyes are filled with a sad darkness, Reece's are empty, his face is empty except for the small, smug smile that spreads across his face as he passes Hal, with Maggie by his side.

"Everyone dies; Dad. There's nothing we can do to stop that. Death will always find us. We can never avoid it; we can only put it off," Hal says, softly.

Tom shakes his head; he stops walking and steps in front of Hal, so that he's blocking his path. "Don't ever think like that, okay?" Tom says.

He's failing, terribly, at staying calm.

"Don't. Things will get better, Hal. You'll get better. Wait and see, I promise you things will turn around," Tom tells him, in an attempt to reassure his son that his life is not over, and that it is worth more than he thinks it is.

"I, uh…I'm late, for my check up with Anne." Hal says, abruptly changing the subject.

Tom releases a deep sigh, before speaking.

"Want me to come?" He asks.

Before Hal speaks, he knows what his answer will be; no.

"Yeah, okay." Hal agrees.

"Really?" Tom asks, raising his eyebrows. This surprises him, greatly, but it's good – he wants to be there for Hal.

"Yeah," Hal nods.

As Hal and Tom begin walking towards the med rooms, he turns back to see Maggie, and she's standing closely to Reece; they're in deep conversation.

And this kills Hal; it hurts him more than he thought that it would and he'd always thought it would hurt a lot. But this, this was much worse.

"How are you feeling?" Anne asks, with the same friendly smile she always gives Hal.

Hal pulls of his leather jacket, and then his black, long sleeve t-shirt.

"Fine," Hal answers, as he pulls himself up onto the edge of the bed.

Tom is watching him, intently, from the corner.

"I'm fine," He says again, but this one is for Tom.

"You know, you sound just like Maggie…" Anne says, before thinking about what exactly she has said.

She remembers, now, that Maggie and Hal aren't on good terms at the moment.

"Oh…I'm sorry," Anne says, as she slowly peels away the two bandages on Hal's chest.

"Ah….yeah, it's fine," Hal mumbles.

He's not really paying attention, out of the corner of his eyes he can see the scars on his chest; the scars that his father is trying not to stare at, but he's failing.

"They're healing well," Anne says, after inspecting them.

Hal nods, "Good….How, uh, how's Maggie?"

He asks the question that's been bugging him, well that's an understatement: It's been driving him insane.

No one really knows how Maggie is, except Maggie herself, and she's not going to confide in Hal anytime soon.

"I, uh, I heard she was sick….." Hal trails off.

Hal had heard, from Dai that Maggie had been sick; throwing up, dizziness, and nausea. And that it was probably food poisoning, or just a cold.

"You... uh, who told you?" Anne asks, slowly removing the bandages from Hal's back.

As she does, she inspects the spikes in his back – they seem to be healing well, there are no signs of scabbing; like Ben's.

"Dai," Hal answers.

Anne is oddly quiet, for a minute. Tom notices, and frowns as he continues to watch her. She lets out a long, deep sigh, before speaking.

"Hal….the swollen lymph node in Maggie's armpit could be caused by an infection, cellulitis, it isn't certain that her cancer is back. Her dizziness and nausea could be symptoms of the infection – but she won't let me-" Anne begins, but is cut off my Hal.

The emotions on his face are a mix of things; confusion, pain, sadness.

"Cancer?" Hal asks, his voice is shaky and it cracks as he speaks, threatening to give out on him on any moment, just like his legs are.

"She might have cancer?" Hal asks, again, checking that it is what Anne had just said.

Cancer – Maggie could have the brain cancer back, and what did he do? He pushed her away when she needed someone.

"I assumed by sick…..oh, no," Anne says, raising her hand to her creased forehead, she rubs it and sighs.

"You didn't know?" She asks.

Hal shakes his head; he appears to be in some kind of daze, his eyes don't lift from the ground for a moment, and when they do they fall onto his shirt.

Hal stands from the bed, quickly, and pulls the shirt over his body.

"Hal, Hal – I don't think this is a good idea. It might not be cancer and if Maggie-" Tom begins, but Hal isn't listening.

"I have to see her, Dad. I don't care – I have to." Hal says, as he pulls his leather jacket back on.

"You knew?" Tom asks Anne, once Hal has left the room.

Anne nods, slowly. "I'm sorry Tom – I swore to Maggie I wouldn't say a word. And it isn't definite. I wanted to tell Hal, and you – but she's scared, Tom. She's just-" Anne stops, she closes her eyes and lets out another, longer, sigh.

"I know. It's okay. I just – I wish that you had told me, so you wouldn't have to carry the burden alone," Tom says, softly, as he wraps his arms around Anne.

She nods, as she pulls herself into his chest, closing her eyes as she does, she says, "I promise, from now on, I'll always share my burdens on you."

Tom says, with a small smile, "So will I."

"Maggie – Maggie, open up," Hal says. He repeats this two more times before finally opening the door for himself.

He finds Maggie, on the carpet floor, in front of her bed. She's staring at a photograph in her hand. Her eyes are glued to it and she doesn't look up at Hal.

"What are you doing here?" Maggie asks Hal, shoving the photograph into her photograph.

"You're sick?" Hal asks, with a weak and unsteady voice.

"Anne told you, didn't she.." Maggie mutters.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've-" Hal says, softly, but is cut of by Maggie.

"What, Hal? You would've what? And how exactly would that conversation have gone?" Maggie questions, as she pulls herself up off the carpet.

"Hi Hal; I know you're going through so much right now, you were harnessed by aliens, your brother's missing – let me add some more pressure, some more pain on top of that. My cancer could be back, and if it is I'll probably die, because I won't be getting the treatment I need in this world," Maggie says, she speaks slowly but angrily.

The pain in her voice echoes through the room.

"And what would you say back Hal? What could you say back? You'll be okay, Maggie. It's going to be alright Maggie – you'll deal with it alone, Maggie? I'll just act like a jack-ass, Maggie?" Maggie asks, still getting angrier with each breath.

Hal says, softly, "Maggie….I, uh, I'm sorry..."

"All I wanted to do was be there for you Hal, like you were for me. I just wanted to be there, and help you heal – be with you. That's all I wanted. I just wanted you to need me – Yes, I know how pathetic it sounds, but I just wanted to feel wanted, or needed by you, for once," She says, her voice is shaky as she speaks.

Hal's voice is soft, as he says, "You're my partner, Maggie. I'll always need you,"

"But it's different now, right? You don't feel anything for me, there's nothing there?" Maggie asks, as she raises her eyebrows.

There's so much anger in her voice, but there is more pain then anger.

There is, and always will be, something there between them.

And just as Hal is about to speak, to admit his true reasons and true feelings to Maggie, Tector steps into the room.

"I got you some-" He stops, after realising he's walked in on an argument.

"Oh….I'm sorry…" Tector says, scratching the back of his neck. "I'll go."

"No- don't," Maggie says, stopping Tector.

"We're done here," She adds.

Hal nods, slowly, his eyes glued to Maggie as he lets out a small, silent sigh. He doesn't want to leave, he doesn't want to this conversation, or the two of them, to be done. But, if that's what Maggie wants, right now, she can have it. He'd give her anything.

"I'm sorry about that…." Tector says, again, as he takes a seat down onto the end of his bed.

"Oh, and I got you something," He says, as he holds out what was previously concealed in his hand.

An apple.

"An apple?" Maggie asks, raising her eyebrows.

She steps forward and takes the apple from Tector's extended hand.

"Yeah, well, you know….the other night, you were talking about how you and Robbie used to pick the apples right from the tree, and how delicious they were…This isn't the same thing..at all. I actually stole this one. But, I thought…It's stupid…" He mumbles, as he stands from the bed.

"No, no it's not stupid," Maggie says, as she shakes her head. "It's really sweet, and thoughtful. Thanks." She adds, with a small smile.

Tector nods at Maggie, with a small smile on his face.

"Maggie…." Tector begins; he lets out a small, nervous smile.

"I heard you, last night…." He says, softly so that only she will hear.

He'd had another restless sleep, for most of the night, and he'd heard Maggie in the bathroom, throwing up.

"I'm fine…." She insists.

"You're hot, Maggie – that's not what I mean. Not that you're not– I mean, you're burning up, look at your forehead. You're all sweaty..." Tector tells her.

Maggie says, with a small but fake smile, "Ah…Thanks for that, Tector. But, you know….I, uh; I have kitchen duty, now…Thanks for the apple."

"Just, uh, wait a second, okay?" Tector says, as he steps in front of Maggie, blocking the exit.

"I don't know what's going on with you, but if you ever want to talk I'm here, alright? I'll just say that now. You're not a lost cause, Maggie, don't give up yet," Tector tells her.

These words, which are frighteningly similar to what Hal had told her, hit a chord with Maggie. She nods, slowly, as she carefully hides her emotions from Tector.

"I'm fine, Tector. You know, uh…the same thing stands for you, ok?" She says.

Tector nods.

"Good. I gotta go," Maggie says.

Tector says, with a small smile, "See you."

When Tom had gone to his room, for sleep, he'd found Benjamin and Matt sleeping in his bed. Anne, who looked grim and pale, had explained to Tom, outside of the room, why he was there and what had happened to Jane. Anne had eventually persuaded Tom to not go looking for Pope, because he'd only find trouble, and that they should give him time before trying to help.

But, as Tom and Anne walk towards the cafeteria, they find Pope in the middle of an argument with one of the soldiers, and General Bressler.

"What is all of this commotion?" Weaver asks, as he stands behind Pope.

"General Bressler-" Colonel Porter begins, but he is also stopped by General Bressler, who is listening to a soldier to his left.

"Not now, Colonel." He answers.

Bressler leaves, followed by three of his men, who round up a dozen more soldiers for a meeting, without any members of the Second Mass.

"What was that about?" Weaver asks Pope, who is obviously more than a little drunk.

"Nothing…Your captain-ness….nothing at all," Pope mumbles, as he shakes his head.

"The enemy is out there. They must be destroyed, you know what to do," General Bressler orders the soldiers in the room.

They know what to do; complete removal of the enemy, of the skitters, and the de-harnessed kids.

Bressler speaks, with a chilling voice, as he says, "And if Mason's boy is out there – make sure you get him. No survivors."

* * *

**A/N: So, I'd just like to say sorry for the late update. I was really busy yesterday, so here's a new update. Also, I've decided that the age gap between Maggie and Hal will be 4 years. Thanks for all your input on that, and also thank you so much for everyone who reads,reviews,follows or favourites this story. It seriously means so much.** **And a big thanks to my sister, who listens to all of my ideas, and listens to me talk about falling skies until her ears bleed. It means so very much.**

**Also; Dear guest reviewer who commented on chapter 22;  
Thanks so much. I'm glad that you're still loving the story.**

**Thanks again. & Enjoy. :)**

**Xx**


	24. Open your life now

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"Dad! Dad!" Matt yells out, as he runs down the hallways, searching for Tom.

"Matt?" Tom yells back to Matt.

They meet each other, halfway, in one of the corridors. Anne is by Tom's side, they were headed to check on Hal.

"It's Hal – his- his back-" Matt stutters; he's speaking so fast that it's barely audible.

"Where?" Tom asks.

"Your room," Matt answers.

Tom runs towards his room, Matt and Anne move quickly behind him. When Tom enters the room, Hal's kneeling on the floor. His hands, which are clinging onto the carpet, appear to be trembling.

"Hal-" Tom says, as he drops to Hal's side.

Hal looks up at his father, with blood smeared down his lip and onto his chin, with empty eyes. Then, the spikes on his back light up; they turn blue, and Hal is suddenly under the control of someone; of something.

His hands begin shaking, more violently now, and the spikes continue to glow. He pulls away from the carpet, and from his father, and clutches at his neck as if he's in pain. Then, his spikes fade and the connection is gone. Hal stumbles forward, and Tom just manages to catch him.

"Dad…." Hal says, through deep and painful breaths.

"They're out there, Dad. They're in trouble." He tells him, his voice is slightly calmer.

"Who are? Who's in trouble?" Tom frowns; he's been here before.

They've fallen for this trap before, with Ben, and he won't fall for it again.

"Dad…I think Ben's out there," Hal says.

And this is enough for Tom to forget any concerns of safety, or any fears of a trap. If there is, even a small possibility, that Ben may be out there, Tom won't let it pass by.

"I'll go inform Captain, we'll get him." Tom says, as he grabs onto Hal's shoulder reassuringly.

"No, we don't have time. We have to get the weapons, and go now," Hal answers.

Matt looks up at Tom, and says. "Why can't I be out there? Why can't I help get Ben back?"

"Because…Benjamin isn't as strong as you are, Matt, and he isn't as good as a fighter as you. He's scared, and he's alone. He could use a friend," Anne answers, softly, with a warm, kind smile.

Tom shoots Anne a thankful look when Matt agrees, and runs off to find Benjamin.

"Hal-" Tom begins.

"We're wasting time," Hal says sharply.

He wipes the blood from his face onto the back of his hand, and looks back up at Tom.

"We have to go now," He adds.

Tom and Hal find Weaver and Colonel Porter first, and decide that Hal will round-up members of the Second Mass, who are willing to go out there, and Colonel Porter, Weaver and Tom will talk to Bressler.

Hal rounds up those who are willing to come out, relatively quickly. The group consists of Dai, Anthony, Tector, Lyle, Crazy Lee and Pope. Hal couldn't find Maggie, anywhere, and if it's up to him he doesn't want her out there, because if she comes out there, it's just another person that he has to worry about.

"What are you doing here?" Hal asks, Maggie, as she joins the group that is waiting outside of Bresslers' room.

Hal is slightly irritated, and this comes out clearly as he speaks. He's not irritated with Maggie though, but with Bressler who is wasting their time, their precious time.

Maggie hesitates, before taking a step closer to Hal. Her eyes are still filled with the same pain, and darkness, and what little life Hal remembers in them is gone.

"Someone has to watch out for those feet," She answers, softly, with the tiniest hint of a smile.

"Alright," Pope says, as they all overhear the shouting from Bresslers' room.

Most of the shouting is coming from Tom.

"Looks like Plan B is being put into action. Margaret, Tector, Dai – with me. Lee, Hal, Lyle keep an eye out." Pope tells them.

They stare back at him, slightly confused as to how _he_ knows what plan B is.

"We're wasting time," He mutters.

They nod, and follow him, somewhat reluctantly, to whatever plan B is.

Pope's group return, shortly after, with no sign or word of what plan B was exactly.

Seconds after their return, Bressler bursts out of his room, followed by Tom, who is followed by Weaver and Colonel Porter.

"We will not be sending you out on something that is a maybe. The life of the people of Charleston is not worth that. And you will not be given any weapons, that is my final say," Bressler tells them, for the seventh time.

"Sorry to spring this on you, fellas," Pope says, with the hint of the smile as he steps in front of General Bressler, blocking his path.

Pope looks from Weaver, Tom and Porter to Maggie, Dai and Tector. He gives them a slight nod – the signal.

"This here's a mutiny," He adds.

As he does, Maggie, Tector and Dai pull their weapons out. Dai chucks one gun to Hal, Maggie throws one to Anthony, Tector gives one to Lyle and one to Crazy Lee, while Pope offers his second gun to Mason, all the while keeping the gun in his hand firmly pointed at the middle of Bresslers' head.

Pope closes his eyes, briefly, at the sound of soldiers preparing their guns behind him; they're forming a circle around the group.

"We want to go outside – and we want your help, your permission is not wanted, nor is it a necessity. We want your men, your weapons, now," Pope tells the General, as he takes a step forward.

"Don't move." Three of the soldiers, with their guns pointed at Pope, say.

"Don't threaten me, boy," Pope says, as he slowly turns around to the soldiers who spoke, he lifts his gun to the closest one. "Or, I'll blow a hole in you, six inches wide-"

"Drop your weapons!" Two soldiers yell at Pope.

"I will not follow your orders! You cannot command me!" Pope says, yelling louder, over the top of the soldier's voices.

"We're wasting time." Hal says, softly, just so Tom and Weaver will here.

"Alright – we'll make a deal," General Bressler begins.

"You don't get to make deals, General," Pope says, with such strong resentment.

Pope says, with a mocking smile, "You got yourself a mutiny, I don't know if you understand what that entails, but this only ends with you locked up-"

"Captain Weaver," Bressler continues, ignoring Pope.

"He goes down to lock-up," Bressler says, indicating to Pope. "And so does he," Bressler adds, indicating to Hal this time. "And your group can go outside."

"No way." Tom answers, shaking his head.

"How am I to know that your boy here isn't leading us into _another_ trap like your other boy? I'm not losing any more men. You can go outside if they stay inside." Bressler tells them.

"Deal," Hal nods.

Tom throws Hal a confused look, and then looks to Bressler.

"No deal," Tom objects.

"I'm with Mason on this one – no deal," Pope adds, still keeping his gun raised at the soldiers behind him.

Weaver looks from Tom, to Pope and then to Hal.

Weaver sighs, and says, "Deal."

Tom, Weaver, the rest of the group from the Second Mass, and several or so of General Bresslers' men, walk for three minutes, until they find what Tom had feared; dead bodies of harnessed children, and blood; the blood was everywhere. There was, however, no signs of any rebel skitters.

"Ben?" Tom calls out; the panic and the fear is clear for all to hear, including Ben, who stumbles towards him, from behind a large rock that he was taking shelter behind.

"Dad…." He says, shakily.

He staggers a few feet, until Tom is by his side, and helping him stand.

Ben's cheeks are cut, and bloodied. A deep gash runs down, above his left eyebrow. His arms are bloodied; but the blood is not his, it is the blood of his fallen comrades.

"What- I…what are you doing here? What happened?" Tom asks, looking around for any other signs of life, but he finds none, except for Ben.

"I've come to tell you things, Dad. So many things," Ben mutters, just low enough for Tom's ears to be the only ones that hear his words.

Tom nods, and pulls Ben into a tight embrace.

"I'm just glad you're back," Tom whispers.

"Not for good, Dad." Ben tells him, softly.

He can't stay for good. They both know that.

"Who attacked you, son?" Weaver asks, stepping forward towards Ben and Tom.

General Bressler follows.

"It was dark. I couldn't see. They had guns…." Ben trails off.

"It was probably a group of rebels..." Bressler adds in. "Now, we should head back inside before-"

"General Bressler," Maggie speaks up, cutting him off as she does. "Where are the shovels?" She asks him.

The frown that is already plastered on his face deepens.

"The shovels…to bury the dead," Maggie says.

"We don't have time." He answers, sharply. "We need to go inside-"

"No – we need to bury the dead." Maggie says, stepping closer to the General. "So, where are the shovels?" She asks again.

Bressler hesitates, before speaking. "We need to go inside."

"No, we need to bury the dead." Maggie says, again, louder and with more confidence.

She isn't giving up; they are children, and while they may have been harnessed at one point, they're still children. And every child deserves to have a proper burial; not left to rot in the sun.

Dai steps forward, so that he's standing next to Maggie, as do Tector, Lyle, Lee and Anthony.

Bressler looks from the group, to Weaver, and then to one of his own men.

"Go get some shovels." He orders the man.

"Take Ben inside, get him cleaned up. We can take care of this," Dai tells Tom.

"I'm fine. I want to help." Ben insists.

These de-harnessed children were his friends, they shared a bond. Ben wants to help, he wants to bury them.

It doesn't take long for the graves to be dug; five are dug, for the five dead de-harnessed children. Their bodies are lifted in, gently, and they are then covered in dirt.

Tom and Ben head back, first, followed by the rest of the Second Mass, except for Weaver who decides that he and Colonel Porter will stay with General Bressler for a while, to ensure he doesn't make any rash, or secret, decisions involving the Second Mass.

Weaver knows that General Bresslers' patience is being tested, and that he's about ready to snap and remove the Second Mass from Charleston.

"You can let them go, we're back," Tom calls out, to the soldiers, as he rushes down the stairs towards the prison cells, and towards Hal and Pope.

He finds them both, sitting on the concrete. Pope's eye is red, and swollen. His lip is bloodied, and cut open. But that's nothing in comparison to Hal's face; his right eye is swollen and red, and bruising. His lip is also cut open, but his entire bottom lip and top is covered in blood that has trickled down his chin. He has a new cut, on the side of his head, and a large bruise underneath his left eye.

"Hal….what happened?" Tom asks, as he stops outside of the cell.

Hal just shakes his head, as he slowly stands from the concrete.

"Did you find Ben?" Hal asks.

Tom nods.

"You did this to him?" Tom asks, as he turns to the only two soldiers in the room.

He sees their knuckles are red, and a little bloodied.

"You did this to my son?" Tom asks, again, louder.

"We had to restrain him. He attacked one of our own," The soldier answers.

Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "No, I don't believe that. I don't believe that at all."

He can feel the anger bubbling up inside of his body, ready to explode.

"You did that to my son! You have NO right to do that! NO right at all!" Tom says, yelling each word louder than the last.

Tom's lost it; he's lost his self-control, and he finds he can't stay calm any longer.

"Sir, please lower your voice-" The soldier begins, trying to remain calm.

"You had NO RIGHT!" Tom says, yelling louder.

The veins on his neck, and his forehead, are throbbing as his face turns redder.

"Sir, please lower your voice-"

"Or what? You'll do that to me?" Tom yells, referring to what they did to Hal.

Hal tenses up, inside of the cell, he grabs onto the holes in the fence as he yells out, "You touch him, and I'll kill you."

He speaks so calmly, but with such violence, that it frightens Tom a little, to see his son speak like that. Tom actually believes, in this moment, that Hal would kill the two soldiers if they touched him.

And so, Tom backs down from the soldiers. He coughs, twice, and then looks up to them.

"Could you please release my son?" He asks, speaking softly.

"And Pope," Tom adds.

The soldier nods, and somewhat reluctantly, releases Hal and Pope.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up," Tom says, to both of them.

"No. I'm fine," Pope says, as they walk up the concrete stairs.

"Pope…." Tom begins, but Pope won't hear it.

He doesn't want to be around anyone, but Benjamin.

"Don't, Mason. I'm okay." Pope insists.

He leaves Tom and Hal, and heads towards his bedroom, where he washes his face clear of blood, and gets changed into clean clothes, so that when he goes to see Benjamin, there won't be any blood on him. Well, there won't be any blood that Benjamin can see. However, Pope can see the blood on his hands all of the time, every minute of the day he sees it; his daughters' blood, his wife's blood. And despite how hard he scrubs at it, it'll never go away.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Tom asks Hal, finally, when they're almost at the med rooms.

"This guard…Pope started pushing things. He threatened to kick the guards' teeth in," Hal tells him.

Tom nods, slowly. "It looks like they kicked your teeth in. I don't see what that has to do with you?"

"They were kicking him, while he was down. I stepped in." Hal answers.

"That's all?" Tom asks, not buying it.

"That's all." Hal answers, he looks from Tom, back towards the med rooms that they've just entered.

He stops walking when he sees his brother; Ben, being tended to by Anne. She's just finishing bandaging the small cut on his head, and washing away the blood.

Ben notices Hal immediately, and then he sees the spikes on his back; the spikes that are his fault. Ben knows it's his fault, and he knows that Hal thinks it to.

"Come on," Tom tells Hal, as he begins walking towards Ben.

But Hal doesn't move; he seems frozen.

He is frozen, in his mind, all he can see is the pain, and the blood, and the constant threats that Karen made against Ben, when he was up on the hooks. And suddenly, Hal feels self-conscious, and ashamed; he's ashamed of the scars on his body, that Ben will see if he stays, because Anne will want to check for any internal injuries.

Hal can't let his brother see him like that; he can't.

Hal shakes his head, as he staggers backwards, away from Ben and away from Tom.

"Hal?" Tom calls out, frowning. His face painted with concern.

"No, don't Dad. Just don't…." Hal mutters, shaking his head, he steps back again, away from Tom.

"Don't." Hal says, again. This time there is more desperateness in his voice; it's like he's pleading for his Dad not to follow him, to let him be alone.

So, this time, Tom gives Hal what he wants. He will give him some time alone, for now, until he has cooled down, or until he is ready to talk about this. Tom will try his hardest to wait until Hal is ready to talk; but he won't wait until Hal is shattered and broken, he can't let that happen to his son. He won't let it happen.

Hal walks, clouded in his memories, and his pain, as his feet lead him to Maggie's room. He doesn't know why he is here, or what he should say. All that he knows is that he has to get away from it all now. And he can't go to his own room, because if Matt is in there he would freak out, and Hal doesn't want Matt to see his brother like this; a wreck, a mess, a monster.

"Hal…what- oh my god…" Maggie stops, as she opens her bedroom door after hearing two knocks.

"What happened to you?" She asks, as she looks over the blood on his face, and his arms.

"Can I come inside?" Hal asks, as he looks down at Maggie with his empty, hazel eyes.

She nods, and steps to the side, allowing Hal to come inside. Once he's inside, Maggie closes the door and follows him to where he's standing, in the middle of the room.

"You know, I'm surprised that Tector isn't in here…Or Reece. I can't keep up, Maggie. Or Pope. Maybe Pope will walk out from the bathroom," Hal says, with the hint of a smile.

But it isn't a kind smile; it's a mocking smile.

"That's unfair." Maggie tells him.

He has no right to say that; he knows that she isn't seeing Reece, or Tector. And she sure as hell isn't seeing Pope. Tector is becoming a good friend to Maggie, perhaps one of her only friends. And Reece; there's nothing there with Reece, except for anger and pain. And Pope -the only thing between them, the tiniest thing, could be some messed up kind of respect for Pope saving her life that night.

"If you came to be a jerk, you can get out." Maggie tells him, as she crosses her arms.

Hal shakes his head, slowly.

He didn't come here to be a jerk; but he doesn't know why he's here.

"Come on. Let's get you cleaned up," Maggie says, as she walks towards the bathroom.

Hal looks over the room, once, before following Maggie into the small bathroom.

He stands behind her, as she turns the taps on and runs a cloth under the warm water, until it is damp enough to wipe away the blood.

Maggie lifts the cloth to the cut on the left side of Hal's face, and wipes away the blood from his cheek. It bleeds a little, from contact with the cloth, so Maggie decides to cover it with a bandage.

She leaves Hal, alone, in the room while she searches her bags from a bandage. She finds one, a spare, and re-joins Hal in the bathroom, where she gently smooths it down over the cut on his cheek.

Hal watches Maggie, silently, as she cleans up the blood.

"So…are you going to tell me what happened?" Maggie asks, finally, breaking the silence.

She lifts the cloth to Hal's chin, and just underneath his neck, as she wipes the blood away.

Hal's silence gives Maggie her answer, and she doesn't push him for an answer. If he doesn't want to say anything to her he doesn't have to.

Lastly, Maggie lifts the cloth to Hal's lips, and gently wipes the blood from his top, and bottom lip. She tells Hal to gargle, with water, to remove the blood from his teeth and tongue. He does as Maggie tells him, and soon, they're just standing in the bathroom, with the sink filled with blood and the silence floating between them.

"You looked tired…." Maggie says, speaking first.

"Why don't you sleep? "She asks.

Hal shakes his head, slowly, and says, "I can't."

He hasn't slept, properly, since he was harnessed. And he doesn't think he'll be able to sleep ever again.

"Just try," Maggie answers back, sharply, as she clears the blood out of the sink.

She steps out of the bathroom; Hal turns the light off and follows her.

"Take my bed, if you want." She mutters, as she takes a seat in one of the arm chairs.

Maggie sighs, and says, "You don't look good, Hal. So, try and sleep. I'll be here if you…."

"If I freak out?" Hal asks.

Maggie nods, slowly. "Yeah…well…you were there when I did."

"Maggie…." Hal begins.

"You don't have to say anything. Just sleep, Hal." Maggie tells him, ending the conversation.

Hal is tired, and weak, and Maggie is running on empty. What they both need, right now, is not a conversation that would lead nowhere, but silence – and just being in the same room, knowing that the other was there.

Hal pulls of his shoes, and his jacket, before he pulls back the sheets in Maggie's bed and pulls himself into it. He closes his eyes, for a second, and he immediately sees the hauntings.

"I'm right here, Hal," Maggie's soft, calm voice echoes through the silent room. "I'm right here." She repeats.

And those words are enough for Hal, right now. They're enough to push the hauntings out, for a few hours, they're enough to give him a few hours of sleep, and a few hours of hope.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has read/reviewed/followed/favorited. It means so much, so thank you all.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

**You will find out in the next one why the skitters weren't with Ben, when they found them.**

**Also, Dear Guest; who wrote on Chapter 23:  
Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear that you think that it's great. And I'll try not to make the updates end for as long as I can :)**

**Anyway, enjoy this one.**

**:)**


	25. I'll try to be everything you need

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"Hal, Hal wake up," Maggie whispers, into the darkness, as she leans over Hal.

His eyes snap open, and the panic sets in. His hands move, in a reflex, grabbing Maggie tightly by the throat. He sits up, in the bed, still with his hands around Maggie's throat. His breathing is deep, and shallow, as his eyes dart around the dark room. She doesn't struggle underneath his grip, though, despite how tight he is holding on, she doesn't struggle.

Finally; they find Maggie, and he drops his hand.

For a moment, the only sound in the room that can be heard is Hal's heavy breathing, but that soon slows down, and he lifts his eyes to find Maggie's.

"What- I what…" Hal trails off, confused and somewhat shaken. Also, a little disgusted with himself that he would do this to Maggie.

"You were…you were talking, in your sleep," Maggie says, as she rubs her neck with her left hand.

He wasn't talking; he was screaming out in agony.

"Oh, was I? Sorry," Hal mutters.

His beautiful, hazel eyes don't lift from Maggie's eyes. Maggie only drops her eyes, for a second, when she sees that Hal's arms are shaking, as is the rest of his body.

"Move over." She tells Hal.

He frowns at her, still not moving his eyes.

"What?" He asks, confused and unsure if he'd heard her right.

"Move over." She says again, louder this time.

Hal looks from Maggie, to the empty space in the single bed, and then back to Maggie. He nods, slowly, and shifts over in the bed, leaving Maggie enough room to sleep. She removes her combat boots, and pulls herself into bed, next to Hal, underneath the sheets.

"Maggie…" Hal speaks, so softly, that she can only just hear. "Thanks…" He says, letting out a small sigh as he does.

He wants to say so much more to her then thanks.

"You know…" Hal begins.

It's hard for him to say these words, to her. It's painful for him to imagine, even for a second, that the cancer could be back, and that he could lose her.

"If the….if the cancer…" He speaks softly. "If the cancer is back…I want you to know, you're not alone."

Maggie, whose eyes are closed, breathes in sharply. She opens her eyes slowly, as Hal continues to speak. Their eyes meet, now.

"And…uh, if you can't get any treatment, anywhere…We can…we can go to the mountains; just the two of us. And we can…I mean, I'll be there," He tells her.

I'll be there. Those words mean so much to Maggie. But she can't put Hal through that. She won't let him go through any more pain.

"Hal…" She begins to speak, to object, to tell Hal there is no way in hell that's happening.

If she's sick; she's leaving the Second Mass. She's not staying around to hurt these people any longer.

"No, let me speak, Maggie. I know what you're going to say; that you'd rather be alone. And you know what? That's great, but it's not happening. If the cancer is untreatable, if it is even cancer, I'm here. And, we're going to go up to the mountains, and find a cave….with lots of grass outside, and fields of lavender…Just the two of us," Hal speaks every word softly.

As Maggie closes her eyes, she can almost imagine these caves; hollow, and cool. They'd be protected. It'd be so quiet.

She can almost feel the flowers underneath her hands, as she imagines herself walking through the lavender fields, with Hal behind her. The orange sunset shadows over them; he looks perfect in the light, he looks pure.

When Maggie reopens her eyes, she finds Hal watching her, with such intensity – there's something else in his eyes though, something she's unfamiliar with.

"No." She whispers.

Hal's pure, and soft expression changes into the beginnings of a frown.

"What?" Hal asks, still watching her.

"You're not coming with me. If it is cancer, I'm doing this alone," Maggie speaks so softly, and gently, that Hal understands she is trying to protect him.

"I'm sorry Maggie, but you're not doing this alone. I know you're afraid, but I'm not leaving," Hal answers.

"When I, when I'm with you…I felt like…I was watching part of you die…. and you know, that killed me Hal. I won't put you through that, because…" Maggie stops, letting out a small, almost painful sigh, before continuing.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm afraid? Because I am, Hal, I'm terrified. Not of dying, no. I'm afraid of losing you. I won't lose you again, and I won't put you through…this. No," She tells Hal, not lifting her eyes from his.

"You're not pushing me away," Hal says.

"Why? You pushed me away?" She answers, sharply.

An uncomfortable, dark silent floats between them again; it taunts them, laughing cruelly at the two of them.

"I feel like…we're stuck – and I'm so tired. I don't want to fight anymore, Maggie. I just want to…I'm tired. I-" Hal stops, letting out a deep breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding in.

"So sleep, Hal." Maggie answers, this time with more softness to her voice. "I'm here, tonight. So sleep." She adds.

"How's Hal?" Ben asks, Tom, as he stands from the end of the med bed.

It hadn't taken Anne long to fix up his few cuts, and wipe away the blood. She'd left, just now, to give Tom and Ben time to talk.

"He's…" Tom stops.

He isn't really sure how Hal is.

"He's doing okay," Tom answers.

He prays that Hal is doing okay; he's not sure that Hal will ever be okay.

"He – he…he blames me?" Ben questions, as he begins walking out of the med rooms, with Tom.

Tom shakes his head, "No. No he doesn't. He missed you – Hal is….Hal is just, different now, Ben. Not because of you, and not only because of the harness. He's just…He needs time, to come back to us."

Ben nods slowly, at Tom's words. He's not sure if he believes them, he's not sure if anyone can really come back from the darkness, and become who they were. Maybe, they can become a shadow of who they were, but they won't be full again. There will always be darkness there, where the light used to float.

"So, where's Matt?" Ben asks when they're out in the corridors.

"He's playing with Ben." Tom answers. He smiles a little, when he notices the confusion on Ben's face.

"Sorry – Benjamin, uh…Pope's son, Benjamin…I, uh was hoping we could have a talk, before you went to see Matt?" Tom suggests.

He wants to talk to Ben about so many things; the rebel skitters, why they were here, where he has been.

"Ok." Ben nods, in agreement.

"You said to me, when I found you 'I've come to tell you things….So many things'?" Tom asks, as he closes the door to his bedroom.

He turns around to find Ben, in the middle of the room, standing still, staring at a spot of blood on the floor. He looks up to Tom, and nods slowly.

"The rebel skitters are planning something, big, Dad. An attack on the overlords – we weren't headed for Charleston, but we had no other options; the skitters that aren't part of the rebellion were closing in on us. Then, we got attacked…I can't stay here for long, I need to find him, Dad." Ben says; he watches Tom as he speaks.

"Red-Eye?" Tom asks, referring to the skitter to which they'd previously encountered.

Red-Eye was also one of the skitters who had helped them; in the ambush.

"If that's what you call him, then yes. He has many plans, plans that you could assist us in. But that's not all, Dad…." Ben begins; he stops and looks up nervously at Tom.

He lets out a small, shaky sigh, before speaking, "I've seen it, Dad – Eleedium."

"Eleedium?" Tom asks, frowning. "I don't understand…." He adds.

"The one that you call Red-Eye; he showed me his world, before it was destroyed – it was peaceful once," Ben begins.

"It was similar to earth – it was water based; it had hundreds of rivers, and oceans, and lakes. Their water was light blue; almost clear. The land – there was so much green, Dad, miles and miles of green grass; and the skies; a mixture of purple, gold and yellow," Ben stops, lets out a small sigh, and continues.

"I wish…I wish that you could see it, Dad. I can't describe it, it was…so similar to our world. That's why the rebel skitters are trying to help us, to save our planet from the destruction that came to theirs. And to remove the Overlords, that control them," Ben speaks slowly, and softly, as he does Tom can almost imagine Eleedium.

It sounds peaceful. It sounds similar to Earth, but it isn't Earth, and Tom wishes that Eleedium still existed, so that if they were to ever remove the Overlords, the skitters could leave.

Now, he wonders, what will happen if they ever remove the Overlords? How will society repair itself? How will they repair the world?

And the more daunting question: What will happen to the harnessed and de-harnessed children? What will happen to the rebel skitters? They will surely be removed.

All of these questions are not worth asking, when they might not win the war. Tom knows that he should focus on right now; on winning the war. But that still feels impossible, at the moment. And some days, Tom wonders how the hell they have survived for so long. He fears that their luck will run out, and that death will catch up to them as it has caught so many innocent others.

"Come on, eat up," Pope tells Benjamin, as they sit at one of the tables in the almost empty cafeteria.

Benjamin nods, and slowly swallows bits of his bread.

Pope isn't hungry, and he shoves his food to the side.

"Come on, eat up," Benjamin says, mimicking Pope, with a smile on his face.

Pope smiles at this, and says, "Eat your food."

"So, you've been hanging around Mason's boy?" Pope asks, finally.

"Who?" Ben asks, frowning slightly.

It takes Pope a second to remember Mason's third boy's name.

"Matt," He says, finally.

"Oh yeah," Ben nods, smiling. "He's really fun."

"Mmm. That makes one of them," Pope mumbles.

He looks up, from Benjamin, to the table behind them; two children, a woman and a man, all staring at Benjamin's back.

Pope looks back down, at his son, as he tries to keep himself calm. But it's failing, miserably. And he can't take this; he can't take their judgement of his boy.

So, he stands, abruptly, from his seat. "Wait here," He tells Benjamin.

He takes a few steps, towards, the table, and once there he rests his hands onto it and half leans down.

"You, uh…you keep staring at my boy, over there," Pope begins, he looks up to Benjamin who has turned to watch him, and smiles.

And still with the smile on his face, he looks back to the family, and says, "I…well. I'll kick all of your teeth out of your mouth. We'll make a family event out of it, huh?"

As Pope leans back, from the family, the smile on his face is gone; his eyes are filled with a deep, threatening and dark anger.

"Did you get any sleep?" Hal asks Maggie, as he rolls over onto his side to see she is no longer in bed with him, but sitting on the edge of the bed.

"A little," She answers, lying. She had no sleep.

"Uh, Maggie…thanks, for…It's the first time I've slept, in a while. Thank you," Hal says, as he pulls himself to the side of the bed, so he's sitting next to Maggie.

She nods, and pushes back her hair behind her ears. "It's fine, Hal."

Hal turns his head, sideways, so that he's facing Maggie. He watches her, for a moment, while she avoids his gaze. Finally, she meets it.

She can't avoid his eyes; those damn hazel eyes that still, after so much, hold so much power over her. They drive her insane, crazy, to the brink of insanity. No, Maggie thinks. She was already on the brink of insanity. Hal's hazel eyes saved her; they bought her back from the edge.

And as Maggie looks deep into Hal's hazel eyes; all of the feelings that she was keeping, just below the surface, arise. She can't fight them, she just wants to get past where they are, she just wants to be with him again, like they used to be not long ago.

"Maggie…." He whispers, into the darkness, as he moves closer to her.

"I only…I just wanted to protect you. That's all I wanted…" Hal speaks softly, and slowly.

He closes his eyes for a second, as a painful breath escapes his lips.

"Yeah…well. Didn't really do a great job, did you?" She asks, teasing, with a small smile.

Hal smiles at this; not at her words, but at her smile. That beautiful smile he hasn't seen in so very, very long.

"It's all your fault." Hal says, also teasing.

His smile widens as a small, cute laugh escapes his lips.

"Oh really, why is that?" Maggie asks, still smiling, with raised eyebrows.

"I can't think straight, when you're around. My head gets...all cloudy," Hal says, with the cute grin that Maggie has missed.

"No, that's not it," She says, smiling, and shaking her head.

"You know….I thought I'd lost you," Hal admits, the smile on his face falters.

Maggie's eyes seem to re-ignite with something; life, maybe, as she turns to look at Hal.

"Never," She tells him.

Hal, who is still smiling, moves in closer to Maggie, so close that he can hear her heart beating. Her beautiful, pure, good, strong heart; despite what Maggie thinks, her heart is all of those things. He feels so many things, in this moment with Maggie; so many feelings, all different and all deep.

Maggie's eyes, which had fallen to Hal's lips, move back up to his eyes, and they close as she leans into him, she lifts her hand to his cheek and pulls him closer to her as she kisses him.

Every emotion previously felt by Maggie, every feeling that she had felt for Hal comes back. In all honesty, it never left. It was always there, just under the surface.

There is more passion in this kiss, more longing. They've missed each other; they've missed being with each other, sharing each other's emotions and feelings.

Their moment is broken, however, by the opening of Maggie's bedroom door. It is not Tector, however, that steps through. It is the last person that either of them want to see; Reece.

Maggie breaks away from Hal, and stands from the bed.

"Mags, what are-" Reece stops, at the sight of Hal on Maggie's bed.

He smiles at this, like he finds it amusing. "Well. I can't say I'm surprised. You always were a sucker, well…you know, for 'bed-hopping', shall we call it?" He asks, tilting his head sideways.

"What did you say?" Hal asks, angrily, as he stands from the bed.

Reece says, with a smirk, "Look, I don't know if you're deaf, or stupid, or both – but I called her a 'bed-hopper', should I dumb it down for the high school jock?"

"You should get the hell outta here, before the 'high school jock' kicks your junkie ass," Hal threatens, as he takes a step forward.

Maggie moves with him, though, and tries to stop him.

"How does it feel up there, Mags? Up on your high-horse now?" Reece asks, with a mocking smile. "Oh, and yes, Porcupine, I did hear you – loud and clear, actually, before you ask me if I'm deaf. No, I'm not stupid. I'm not either, actually."

"You need to leave," Hal warns him.

He is trying so very hard not to snap, right now. He's fighting his insides, which are going inside. And in his mind; he's already thrown Reece against the wall; his bones are broken, and the carpet is stained with blood. But that's in his mind, and he won't let the beast he knows is inside of him out. Not tonight. He'll fight it for as long as he can.

"Does he speak to you like this, Mags?" Reece asks, tilting his head to the side as he casts a look over Maggie. "You always did love being ordered around, didn't you?" He adds, with a wink.

In any other scenario, with anyone else but Reece, Maggie would've punched the person shouting cruel words at her in the face. But all that Maggie sees, when she looks into Reece's eyes, are her boy's eyes. And she feels frozen, helpless, and somewhat controlled, because of those eyes.

"You know…uh, if you're back in the 'bed-hopping'...old times sake?" Reece adds, with a smirk.

"You've got two seconds to get out of here, before I snap your neck," Hal says, with such violence in his voice.

But it doesn't intimidate Reece, it just annoys him, it makes him want to push Hal even more.

"You've got such a….good image of our girl, here, Mags. You're way off, mate. You know…She did, in fact, sleep with me in return for…what shall we call them, 'supplies'….So technically, she's just a classier version of a prostit-"

Hal snaps before he hears the end of that word. He knows what Reece is calling Maggie, and she is not that, and she doesn't deserve to hear those cruel words.

Hal's anger, and his pain, gets the better of him. The one, hard punch that Hal throws sends Reece backwards, and he hits his head on the edge of a chair.

And, instead of leaving Reece to stand, and stumble from the room, Hal moves towards him, and grabs Reece by the collar. He picks him up off the floor with ease, and slams him backwards, harshly, into the wall. His feet dangle in the air, as Hal holds him up by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm going to say this once – you come anywhere near Maggie again, and I'm not going to punch you, or threaten you, or even choke you," He speaks slowly, so that he won't have to repeat himself.

"No, no. You're going to disappear, in the middle of the night. And no one will ever find your body," Hal says these words softly, so that Maggie won't hear.

Maggie doesn't hear, though, but Tector, who has just entered the room and is only two feet away from Hal, hears.

Hal drops Reece, now, and steps back from him.

Reece coughs, twice, and stands shakily, as he wipes the blood from his nose. "You're a freak." He says, very loudly, to Hal. "You're a…you're a freak. And I'm going to make sure everyone here knows that."

"Really? Well…you know, Reece, that's going to be difficult…." Hal begins; he takes a step forward and whispers, "Since the dead can't talk."

"You okay, Maggie? Ed?" Tector asks, Hal, once Reece has stumbled from the room.

A smile breaks out on both Maggie's, and Hal's faces.

"Yeah…I'm fine, Tector - Oh wait… that's not it. I'm fine, thanks, Alowicious." Hal answers, with a smile.

"You told him?" Tector asks, looking over at Maggie.

She shakes her head, "I didn't say a word."

"It was Dai." Tector says. "It's Tector." He adds, with a small smile. "Just Tector."

"Yeah…I like Tector better," Hal answers, also with a small smile.

"I uh, I've got a shift in the kitchen. I just checked – you do too, Hal. You want to walk together?" Tector asks.

Hal nods, slowly, and looks back to Maggie.

"I'll see you later?" He asks.

She nods, slowly. They need to talk about what just happened.

"Mhm." She nods.

"So…Kitchen duty, huh? That sounds fun, and so early..." Hal says, to Tector, as the two of them walk down the hallways, towards Charleston's cafeteria.

"Yeah, I lied about that." Tector admits, as he comes to an abrupt stop out of the cafeteria.

"I do have kitchen duty, you don't. I wanted to talk to you, about Maggie," He adds, as he lifts his right arm and scratches, somewhat nervously, at the back of his neck.

"What about Maggie?" Hal asks, frowning slightly, still with a small smile on his face.

He takes a step closer to Tector, and waits for him to speak.

"You two are talking again – that's good. That's real great. But, uh…look, I know this isn't my place to say, so if I cross any lines let me know, but Maggie's my friend, Hal. And I don't want to see her hurting, again," Tector stops, for a moment, as he lets out a small sigh.

"What I'm trying to say is – you hurt her, real bad, when you pushed her away. Don't pull her close if you're going to push her away again, because…from where I was standing, I don't think she could take it again," Tector says, with a soft voice.

Hal takes a second to process Tector's words; he agrees with them entirely, and he understands that Tector is being a caring friend. But Tector's words do bring him back into his own reality.

If his fate is sealed, and he will turn into a skitter because of his spikes, then what? He can't do this to Maggie, again. He can't put her through all that pain, but he doesn't want to push her away and hurt her again. Maybe, they could go up to the mountains together, just the two of them, and just stay together in the purple coloured fields, underneath the orange sunset, and forget for a moment.

Hal, who doesn't notice that Tector has said his goodbyes and left for his kitchen duty, can almost see the fields. He can almost see Maggie lying in them; the orange sun that flickers down on her makes her, if possible, look more beautiful.

Hal's reality comes crashing down, in waves, as he looks up to see his brother, Ben, who is wearing a small smile on his bandaged and bruised face.

He had failed again, Hal thinks. He broken his promise to his mother; the promise where he'd swore, silently, he'd protect his little brothers. He promise he would honour until the death; even if it leads to his own death, he will always protect his family. This promise stands for his family, for Maggie, and for the Second Mass. Everything is uncertain in this world - however, one thing that isn't uncertain to Hal is how far he is willing to go for the people he cares for - to the edge of the world, over the edge, and back.

**A/N:**

**Dear guest who posted on chapter 24 as Guest;  
Thanks so much! It means so much for you to say that! Thank you! :)**

**Dear guest who posted on chapter 24 as anonymous;  
Thank you so very much! I'm so happy that you love it, and sometimes more than the storyline of the show which is amazing! That means so much :) Hope that you like this one :)**

**Dear guest reviewer Alice, who posted on chap. 24;  
I don't want to spoil anything, but they will be back together soon! They'll figure it out very soon :) I'll tell you that much. Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this one!**

**P.s A big thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, follows and favorites. It means so much, and I'll keep writing as long as you're interested. A big thanks to my awesome sis who listens to me go on and on about falling skies, and my fic. Thank you all very much. You're all awesome.**

**Thank you & Enjoy!  
:)**

**Xxx**


	26. She'll be his heart, now

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"I…." Hal begins, as he takes a few unsure steps towards Ben.

"It's good to have you back." He says, finally, as he stops walking two feet away from his brother.

Ben nods, slowly. "It didn't seem that way before. You couldn't get out of the med rooms fast enough."

Hal scratches the back of his head, somewhat nervously, and lets out a small sigh. "Yeah…well. I had to….go see Maggie."

"It is good to see you." Hal says, again.

The two brothers hold eye contact, for a second, as they stand silently. Both have many things that they want to say, to the other, but both have no idea how exactly to put the words together, or where they should begin.

Hal wants to say all of the things that he said to Ben, the night that he 'came back'. The night that Hal thought they had finally sorted out whatever this was between them. But, that wasn't Ben he was talking to. Ben has no recollection of that night, or any night prior to that, and for some strange reason Hal doesn't have the confidence right now to repeat those words.

Ben wants to apologize, to his brother, for what he unknowingly led them into, and what happened to Hal as a result of that – the harness.

"Hal….." Ben begins, after letting out a deep and somewhat painful sigh.

"Don't." Hal answers, quickly, shaking his head as he does.

He knows what Ben is going to say, he is going to apologise and this is not Ben's fault. What happened to Hal is not anyone's fault.

"Don't say it, Ben, because it isn't your fault. Ok." Hal speaks firmly, and confidently.

Hal doesn't want the thought to cross into his brother's mind, even for a second, that the harness on his back is his fault.

"We're going to get through this, alright. You and me….we'll….." Hal's voice is suddenly shaky, and unsteady.

How will they get through this? If they're both destined to be skitters. Then, it hits Hal what will happen. A solution, he thinks – they need only one gun, with two bullets.

"We'll get out." Hal adds.

We'll get out of here, he means. Out of this world – he won't let them turn into skitters.

And, if or when that day comes, that either is beginning the process, Hal knows what he will do.

"Mr…Mr Mason," A familiar voice, from behind Hal, speaks out.

To what Mason he is addressing, Ben or Hal is unsure. But, as Hal turns to face the speaker – Doctor Roger Kadar, he knows what Mason the Doctor is addressing.

"Have you – have you had – had time, to consider my proposition?" Doctor Kadar asks, as his eyes, hidden by the thick glasses he wears, flicker over to Ben, whom he notices also has spikes.

"Ah….I sees I've interrupted something. My deepest apologizes. Whenever you're ready, Mr Mason," Doctor Kadar says, with a small smile and nod, as he steps away from Hal.

"I – we're done, here." Hal calls out, stopping the Doctor from leaving.

Hal has had time to consider his proposition, and he wants to accept it. If Doctor Kadar's theory could work, if there is the smallest possibility that it could work, and that it could stop the process, Hal wants to accept it – and he wouldn't be doing it just for himself, but for his brother and all other harnessed and de-harnessed children.

"What – uh…what proposition?" Ben asks, stepping forward, closer to Hal and the Doctor.

Hal shifts, somewhat awkwardly, as he looks from the Doctor, to Ben, and then to a group of soldiers who are most likely out looking for Hal, because Reece would've ran straight to Bressler, and he's sure Bressler would dive at any excuse to lock him up.

"Can we go down – to your lab?" Hal asks, turning to the Doctor.

Roger nods, enthusiastically. "Of course, we can. Of course you can," He mumbles.

The Doctor leads them down past all of the bedrooms, and the bedrooms, and down two sets of stairs, which seem to get smaller, and smaller, as they go, until they're as far down in the ground as is possible. He unlocks a bolt, on a thick metal door, and pulls it back so that Ben and Hal may step inside; once they are inside he closes it and locks it.

The room is much smaller than Hal had expected; the air is musty, and floats with unfamiliar smells. There are many tables, of all sizes, that have been taped together, and covered with sheets, are filled with tubes, containers, syringes, piles of paper and other unfamiliar objects.

The sound of rats, scuttling, on the concrete floor echoes through the room, that apart from the sound of engines running is silent.

Hal stops as his eyes fall down onto an all too familiar object – a harness. It's been cut open, dissected, and tested on, and it isn't functioning any longer. But it still has the power to frighten Hal; he doesn't know why it frightens him so deeply, but it does. It also disgusts him, greatly, to think that he had that _thing_ on his back.

"Now, Mr Mason-"

"Hal, call me Hal." Hal tells him, cutting the doctor off.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Hal, if you would be so kind as to take a seat and remove your shirt?" Roger asks, as he stops at what appears to be some kind of operating table.

Hal nods; he looks somewhat uncomfortable as he walks down towards the table, and removes his jacket, and then his long sleeved black shirt.

Now, if possible, he feels even more uncomfortable, with the Doctor examining the screws in his back, and his brother, on the other side, who can't seem to lift his eyes from the two scars on the front of Hal's chest.

When Ben finally lifts his eyes, which are filled with confusion, sadness and pain, they meet Hal's, whose are empty, and offer no explanation as to who or what the scars are from.

"Mmm. Mr Mason- Hal. My apologies, Hal...these are quite fascinating. They do not seem to be healing, nor do they seem to be processing yet. "

"Your brother – your name is?" Roger asks, as he turns to Ben.

"No." Hal says, adamantly. "No." He repeats.

No, the Doctor is not looking at Ben's back. No, Ben will not be tested on. He will protect his brother. He won't allow anything to happen to his brother.

"If I could take a look- his would be much further developed?" The Doctor suggests.

"NO. Not Ben," He says as he looks up, from the ground, to Ben.

Hal speaks with more anger this time, and more darkness.

"I'm not a child-" Ben begins.

"Yeah, you're not. But you're my little brother. And I'm saying no. No way," Hal says, angrily.

These words, though meant with good intentions, are not so well received by Ben.

Ben shakes his head, "You can't tell me what to-"

"I just did. Get out of here." Hal tells him.

Ben doesn't move, and neither does the Doctor, who begins to speak, "Perhaps…."

Hal stands, ignoring Roger, as he walks towards Ben.

"Go." He says, with a more threatening tone this time.

When Ben doesn't move, Hal does the only thing he can think of; he physically pushes Ben away. He shoves him, five feet away. He stumbles a little bit, but stands his ground.

"GO!" Hal yells, so loudly, that it almost shocks Ben to see his older brother acting like this.

An air of darkness fills the lab, as Ben takes a step back from the unknown figure that stands before him. This figure has his brother's features, but there's something different. Something darker to this Hal and it isn't the Hal that he remembers, the Hal that he knows.

Ben nods, slowly, as he takes another step back away from his older brother.

Soon, he has completely vanished from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Hal stairs at the door for a moment, like he's expecting Ben to come back. He turns around, slowly, to the Doctor.

"Shall we continue?" Roger asks, somewhat timidly.

Hal nods, as he retakes his seat. After a moment of extremely awkward silence, Hal finally speaks.

"Your theory – how exactly does it work?" Hal asks, with a surprisingly shaky and nervous voice.

"What I believe – my theory…You see. The, uh the spikes, or screws – they're implanted into your spine, and once implanted, if they are ever removed it would result in death, because….my theory, of course, it hasn't been proven, but my testing has led me to the conclusion that the harness injects into the body of its host a series of chemicals, which alter the not only the DNA and anatomy of said host, but the cells, which would, as we're both aware of, lead to the formation of an exoskeleton around the outside of the body. The chemicals, which are injected, how to do I put this….take over the nerve system. My theory is that once the process is complete, the host will lose all recollection of their past life," Doctor Roger tells Hal, with a soft, yet fast voice.

"I meant, Doctor Kadar…how would you go about stopping the process?" Hal asks, clearing his throat as he speaks.

Hal is already well aware that the entire removal of the harness, and the spikes, leads to death. And that de-harnessed, and harnessed children, will grow an exoskeleton; the scabs are the beginning.

"Well." Doctor Kadar begins, as he steps away from behind Hal, and moves so that he's standing in front of him.

Robert lets out small breath, before he continues to speak.

"My theory is that, the removal of the spikes is possible – one at a time. A very, very delicate surgery in which….Before the spike is removed, a syringe is inserted just below the spike, into the spine, to extract a some of the chemicals that were implanted by the harness. Then, very quickly, a substitute would be introduced – human blood, like a donor, and morphine."

"Sounds simple enough," Hal answers.

Roger nods, slowly. "Yes, well. Hal, I should inform you that there is a high deal of risk involved with this. It is my theory, it may not necessarily be a correct one, and even so it is an incredibly dangerous one."

"All new theories have causalities, right"?" Hal asks.

The Doctor nods. "I just – I don't want to push you-into this, when you…"

Hal shakes his head, as he says, "You're not pushing me. I want to do this. It's one of the things I do know."

"Good. Good," Roger answers, nodding, as he turns away from Hal and walks back to his desk.

"When I'm ready, I will come for you, Hal. Thank you very much for your time," Roger tells him, as he begins to look over papers on his desk.

"Thanks... for your time." Hal mutters, as he pulls his shirt on, and then his jacket.

"Hal, where have you been?" Tom asks, Hal, as he steps inside his bedroom.

Hal frowns immediately; he looks over to Ben who is sitting on the edge of his bed.

"You told him?" Hal asks Ben, ignoring Tom's questions.

"Told me what?" Tom questions, with a frown on his face, as his eyes dart back from Ben to Hal.

"No, but you just did." Ben says, with a sigh. "I'm going to get lunch." He adds, as he stands from the bed.

"Ben…" Tom begins.

"No, Dad. I think you two need to talk about Doctor Kadar," Ben says, as he steps past Hal, who is surprisingly silent.

"What's he talking about, Hal?" Tom asks, as his eyes which had followed Ben out of the room drop down to his eldest son.

"I….uh, I went to see Doctor Kadar. We talked, about his theory. And he looked at my spikes…." Hal says, letting out a small breath when he finishes speaking.

Tom, with the frown still patterned on his worn, and tired face, paces back and forth, before turning to look at Hal.

He's trying to stay calm, to stay reasonable.

"You-what…I thought we talked about his Hal?" He asks, trying to be casual.

"No, you talked about it. I didn't." Hal says, speaking over Tom, he takes a step forward as he runs his right hand over the side of his head, and down to the back of his head where he scratches it twice.

Hal says, softly, "You, know…Dad. I'm doing this with or without you. But, I'd really like it if-"

"If I supported you? I can't do that, Hal. You're my son. You're not a lab rat. You're not one of his tests. I won't let you." Tom says, as he watches his son, with a desperate look in his eyes.

"You won't let me? You don't really have a choice, Dad. All new theories have their causalities!" Hal says, almost yelling.

"And _you_ will not be one of them!" Tom says, yelling loudly.

"I'm not doing this for me, Dad, or for you. I'm doing this for Ben, OK? He's my brother. My little brother, and I promised – it's for Ben. You have to let me do this, Dad. You have to let me go," Hal says with a soft, calm but sad voice.

The frown has disappeared from Tom's face, as has any trace of anger; all that remains now is sadness and pain that is shadowed by a defeated look.

"No, no. I don't – no. I'm not letting you go, Hal. Never," Tom tells him; his voice is soft and cracks as he speaks.

"And I'm not – I'm not going to let my brother – he's my brother, Dad." Hal says each word with such pain and darkness that it frightens both of them. "He's my brother." Hal repeats.

"And I won't let one of them become…I won't let him become a skitter," Hal tells Tom.

Hal's eyes fall from Tom's, to the floor, and then back to Tom.

Tom says, with a small sigh, "Hal….the transformation….it's not certain,"

"Yeah, you're right Dad, it's not. But there's a lot…there's a really high chance that it is," Hal says, with a calmer voice.

"There's a really high chance that you'd die, Hal. And I'm not willing to risk that on a theory that hasn't been proven," Tom says, with more anger and more confidence.

He won't lose his son. He won't lose any of them. They're his boys, and he'll do anything and everything for them.

"What if it doesn't work Hal? Think about that for a second, before you go rushing into this okay? What about your brothers? Or me? Or Maggie?" Tom asks; he sounds more like a desperate man with each word.

"Trust me, Dad. That's all I've thought about, okay? You, Ben, Matt and Maggie – you're all that I think about….But, my minds made up. You can't stop me. I'm sorry Dad." Hal says, with as calm and strong voice as he can muster.

He is sorry; so very sorry that he's caused his Dad this much stress, but in his heart he knows this is what he has to do. It could save so many people's lives, including his brother who is so important to him.

And just as Hal thinks of Maggie, and how to tell her what he plans to do; she enters the room, pushing the door open as fast as she can. Her face is pale, and on her face a mixture of anger, and something else.

"Hal – Tom…" She begins, taking in a small breath. "They're here. We better go, now."

"Who is?" Tom asks, frowning, as he takes a step away from Hal and closer to Maggie.

Maggie looks from Tom to Hal, as she says, "The rebel skitters."

* * *

**A/N: Just want to say a big, big thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows or favorites this story, it means so very much - so thank you all. Also, a big thanks to my ****awesome**** sis, who listens to me ramble, and ramble about FS and my fic.**

**Sorry that this one's on a little late-ish but a busy, busy day.**

**Ok, so I have some bad news. It's not TOO bad, just read it all before you freak out.  
In just under four weeks, the biggest exams of my life so far are coming up, and I'm going to start to study like a crazy person for them. So, in the next four weeks, my updates will be much, much less frequent, and the exam period for me goes for THREE weeks, so that's seven weeks without everyday regular updates, I'm sorry for this, but these exams are super, super, super important. I'm not saying I won't be updating at all, but it will be much, much less frequent, and it won't be every day, or maybe not even every second day, so that's why I am trying to write as much as I can now so that I can just update chapters that I've written beforehand. I promise, after the exams are over, I'll make it up to you, and I'll be writing and updating chapters like a crazy person!**

**So...Thanks for all your support. Hope you're not too mad ^**

**And I hope that you enjoy this one.**

**:) Xxx**


	27. She'll be a star

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The first words that escape Tom's lips, as he follows Maggie, are "Where's Ben?"

These are the first words that crossed Tom's mind, and Hal's. But, that is not the only thing in Hal's mind. No, there are other thoughts there. Thoughts that he would rather not share with his Dad, or with Maggie – these aren't really _just_ thoughts, though. They're more like frightening fears.

Maggie leads Tom and Hal, who are both walking as fast as she is, towards the escalators; where the flag hangs down.

Now, Tom can see them; three skitters, one of which he recognises as the one with the red eye, or as he calls him Red-Eye. Now, Tom sees Ben, being restrained by one of the Charleston soldiers. When they release him, the push him backwards, into the crowd and away from the skitters.

As they push Ben back, Tom can see the spikes on his back light up.

"We've come in peace. To talk to Tom Mason," Ben, who Red-Eye is using to speak through, says formally and loudly so that all may hear.

Maggie, who was following Tom, turns back to where she assumes Hal will be standing, right by her side, but he isn't. He's standing towards the back of the group, with a face devoid of any emotion.

"Peace? Yeah, right. Like any of _your_ lot knows what peace means. Peace – means not invading another planet, and nearly wiping out all of civilization. You know nothing of peace," Bressler says, as he turns back to look at Ben.

"Hal?" Maggie calls out, with a small frown on her face.

She takes a step, towards Hal, just as the spikes on his back light up; on his face, which is contorted in something similar to pain, or fear, are mixture of emotions; confusion, pain, anger, and the one that pains Maggie the most to see – in Hal's eyes, she can see that he is scared.

The feeling is, for Hal, is indescribable. For a second, he can feel something trying to break through, a voice in his head, and then he loses all and any control – and in that split second before all of his self-control is gone, he is frightened.

The second that his spikes light up, Hal's eyes become empty, and any emotions on his face disappear. He watches Maggie like she's a stranger. Now, she realizes, he must be controlled by one of the skitters.

"As hard as it is for you to believe, we do come in peace. Peace is all that we want. And all that we ask, is that you assist us in achieving this peace in your world," Hal says; his voice sounds the same, but Maggie knows it isn't Hal.

Tom frowns, at the sound of his eldest son's voice echoing through the room. As he turns around, slowly, he sees that a path has formed – the people who previously stood around Hal have jumped back, away from him, like he might be poisonous or toxic. The only one who remains beside him is Maggie, but she's almost frozen. She has no idea what to do, or what to say now. This isn't her Hal.

Now, the realization hits Tom – Hal's spikes are glowing. Both of his sons are controlled.

Tom is overwhelmed with a helpless feeling. These are his sons, and yet there is nothing that he can ever really do to protect them, entirely. They're his boys, and he can't stop this. He can't help them. No one can help them.

"Enough with this talk of false peace!" Bressler shouts out.

Tom doesn't see Bresslers' grip on his gun tighten, he doesn't see his finger fall to the trigger. He does hear the sound of the gun firing three times, and the three bullets hitting, and killing, one of the three skitters.

An odd sound rises up, through the sound of falling bullets; a human, screaming in agony.

This sound Tom recognises, immediately. It is the sound of his eldest, crying out in pain. And this sound kills part of Tom; it kills the little part of him that was clinging on, desperately, to hope.

Tom looks down to find Hal, on the ground, with Maggie kneeling over him. He's kneeling, in a crouched position; his head rests on the cool ground. His hands, which are shaking, are clutching at his stomach, like he's in pain. Tom realises now that Hal must have been connected with the skitter that Bressler had just killed.

Tom steps forward, to comfort his son, but he is stopped by three of Bresslers' soldiers, who keep their guns pointed at Tom. Two other soldiers lower their guns to Hal, while another two lift their guns to Ben, and the two remaining skitters.

"Stand up." One of them orders Maggie.

But she doesn't move

"Just give me-" Maggie begins to speak, but is cut off by the soldier.

"Stand up!" The soldier orders her, almost yelling.

But still, Maggie doesn't move. And then, the soldier lowers his gun to Maggie's head, threatening her, as he orders her once more to stand. She still doesn't move from Hal's side. Her hands stay rested gently on Hal's back, soothing him while he stays on the ground, crouched over in pain.

Pope, who is accompanied by Tector and Lyle, loudly says, "Tut, tut, tut," as he walks towards the formed group.

Bressler strains his neck to look at Pope, whom he sees has resting over his shoulder a bazooka.

"Let's not make any rash decisions, hmm, General?" Pope asks, as he takes another step towards the group.

Tector and Lyle, who are both carrying a rifle in each hand, and one strapped over their shoulder, follow Pope's lead. Neither is sure how this will end, but they both know that Pope, with a bazooka, is a deadly and dangerous combination. And that this will likely end in Pope's favour.

"How about…I shoot you, you're dead. Problem solved?" Bressler suggests.

"You're not really in a position to negotiate, now, are you General? What I like better... You tell your men to drop their weapons, off of the Mason boys, then you let me shoot those skitters to hell?" Pope suggests.

He catches a look; something between anger and a warning, that tells him not to touch the rebel skitters.

"OK. How about, I just blow them outta Charleston?" Pope suggests.

"You've all been….brainwashed. They are the enemy!" Bressler says, almost yelling, as he gestures towards the two remaining skitters.

Ben, who is no longer controlled by Red-Eye, moves so that he's standing on the skitters' side.

"They are not the enemy! You're blinded by your hatred!" Ben says, angrily.

"Drop the weapons, General" Pope says, with a threatening voice.

He doesn't know why he said that, he doesn't care for any of the Mason boys, or so he tells himself, but for some reason the words had just slipped out before he thought about them.

"Let's – let's try and be rational about this?" Colonel Porter suggests.

General Bressler shakes his head, "These…members of the Second Mass. They're savages. And they're in cahoots with the enemy. There is no place for anyone, on the side of the enemy, in Charleston."

"General Bressler, I think you're-"

"Now, is your time to choose – you're either with us, or you're against us," Bressler says, speaking loudly so that everyone will here.

"We are with you, General Bressler. But we are not against the rebels. We want the removal of the aliens, as much as you do. But not this way – not your way," Tom tells him.

Bressler nods, and with coldness in his voice he says, "You're against us. It's as simple as that. As I said, choose your side now."

Hal, who is still kneeling on the ground, tilts his head sideways to look at Maggie; neither can see anyone else in the room except for the other. He looks at her, with a saddened face contorted in pain, and shame. The vein, in the middle of his forehead, is standing out on his soft face, as is the vein on his neck. He looks at Maggie like he's confused. Hal wants her to have better than this; better than him.

"Maggie…." He begins, speaking softly and gently. "If you want to stay here-"

"No." Maggie shakes her head, cutting him off. "I will always stand by you," She tells him.

"Come on." Maggie says, still with her hand on Hal's back, as she helps him to stand up.

Once they are both standing, they can see now that Ben has taken his side, with Red-Eye, and the other skitter. Standing in front of Ben, and on the side of the skitters, are Tom, Anne, and Weaver.

Hal and Maggie push past the soldiers, and the crowd, until they're standing in a circle, around the two remaining skitters. Most of the Second Mass stand in this circle, with their arms linked around each-others, protecting the skitters and each other.

And in this moment, the members of the Second Mass, who stand on the rebel skitters' side, are closer than they've been in a while.

"I am sorry, that you've chosen this side, and that it had to come to this because now you've chosen to be part of the problem, and we will stop at nothing until the problem is removed," Bressler tells them, as he motions for his men to lower their weapons.

"You've got no chance out there. Now, you have fifteen minutes to get the hell out of here," He says, as he takes a step away from the group. "God help you all." He adds.

Colonel Porter, who follows Bressler, eventually convinces the General to give them a few cans of food, a few others supplies, and fuel for their trucks, enough fuel to get them out of Charleston. Then, somewhat reluctantly, Bressler had allowed the members of the Second Mass to take back the weapons that they handed in.

Ben, Maggie, Tector and Dai had left, carrying the corpse of the dead skitter, and shovels. Red-Eye had asked

Red-Eye had disappeared, along with the other rebel skitter, the second that they had stepped outside. Ben had wanted to go with Red-Eye, their bond was strong and he felt useless with the Second Mass. He also felt like an outcast; a fragile and broken outcast, that doesn't belong in the Second Mass.

But, despite Ben's wishes to leave, Tom had eventually convinced him to stay – just for a while. One week: one week to show to Ben how much he could help the Second Mass.

Ben had pretended to agree, to be convinced that he could help. He knows, deep down, he can't help them as much as he can help Red-Eye. Before Red-eye had left, he'd told Ben that he would come for him, soon, with news, hopefully. He'd told Ben he'd come back for him.

"You're sure about this? There's nothing that I could do to change your mind?" Colonel Porter asks Weaver, as he watches members of the Second Mass packing up, and grabbing some supplies.

"Charleston was everything that we could've hoped for, it was everything that we wanted, but it's just not what we need right now. It's not right for us. We're too complacent here. My…These people, we don't belong here with them."

"We're stronger together." Colonel Porter tells Weaver.

Weaver nods, in agreement, as he says, "I know. Apart, we can hit the enemy from more than one side. We can weaken them."

Colonel Porter lets out a small, defeated sigh. "So, there's nothing I can say, or do, to change your mind?" He asks.

Weaver shakes his head, slowly.

"I'll see you on the other side?" Weaver asks Porter.

Porter nods, takes a step closer to Weaver as the two embrace, tightly.

"See you on the other side, Captain." Porter tells him.

Colonel Porter knows that he will see Weaver and the rest of the Second Mass on the other side. They will make it through this. They'll remove the enemy, and rebuild their once peaceful world. They will come together, soon enough, to remove the enemy once and for all.

"Mr Mason!" Roger calls out, as he rushes hurriedly towards Tom. "Mr Mason, I'm so thrilled that I found you!" He adds, as he joins Tom, who had just picked up several bags from the ground.

"Why is that?" Tom asks, as a frown begins to form on his face.

"If you had left, I would not be able to join you on your ventures, and thus I would not be able to execute….poor choice of words. I would not be able…my theory," Roger, who has become sweating somewhat due to Tom's intimidating glare, rubs his temples nervously.

"You're not coming with us, Doctor Kadar. I'm not sure why you think that, or who gave you that idea-" Tom begins, but is cut off by his son.

"I did." Hal says, as he steps into the conversation.

He appears by Roger's side, almost out of thin air. His face and his emotions are unreadable, as they always seem to be lately.

Tom says, with a soft voice, "What – I don't…I thought we discussed this?"

He doesn't want to argue with Hal, they're both tired. And they're having the same argument over, and over again. It's tiring, and they aren't moving anywhere. They're stuck in the same argument, and neither is willing to back down.

"He's coming with us, Dad." Hal tells Tom, his voice is confident, and his eyes don't falter from his father's.

The moment that Hal found out that there was a possibility to stop the process of turning into a skitter, he knew that there was nothing his father, or anyone else, could say that would change his mind from doing whatever he could to help his brother, and all other harnessed and de-harnessed children.

"Do I get any say in this?" Tom asks Hal, as he takes a step closer to his son.

All that Tom wants, all that Tom has ever wanted, is to help his son; to protect all of his sons, and he's failed at protecting them so far. He won't lose his boys. And, he won't stop fighting Hal on this.

"I should – I should take a step…a step back. This doesn't involve me." Roger stutters, he's still sweating a little.

"Your theory – you're endangering my son's life. So yes, Doctor Kadar, this does involve you. This operation that you plan to do could kill my boy." Tom says, loudly.

He turns back to Hal, who lets out a small sigh. "Dad…." He begins, but he doesn't quite know how to finish that sentence.

No, he doesn't have a say. Hal cares about his Dad, so much, and he has the deepest respect for him. After the invasion, he hadn't stopped trying to protect his sons and to keep their shattered, broken family together. Tom gives himself up, so willing, to protect others. He is brave, and loyal, and courageous and strong – everything that Hal aspires to be.

Tom gave himself over to the Overlords, so that Ben would stay safe. For Hal, a small procedure with a few risks is nothing to Dad.

So, Hal says the only words that he can right now, "I'm sorry."

And as the darkness, accompanied by silence, floats between Tom and Hal, a soft voice speaks from behind Hal; Maggie speaks. "What operation?" She asks, with a hint of anger in her voice.

Hal turns, slowly, to face Maggie, with a look of regret on his face, shadowed with something else that Maggie recognises oh too well; darkness.

"Time to move out!" Weaver calls out, over the Second Mass' chatter.

"What operation?" Maggie asks again, ignoring the Captain.

Hal looks from Maggie, to the concrete, and then to Maggie. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip, and then scratches the side of his head.

"Gotta get moving, Captain's orders." Hal tells her.

He takes a step left, towards his bags, but Maggie takes a step right and blocks his path.

She looks up at him, with slightly raised eyebrows; her hands are raised to stop him from moving past her. The emotions on her face are so carefully shielded, Hal can't read them.

"Hal…" She says, as softly as she can.

Maggie wants Hal to trust her; to let her be there for him. He wouldn't let her before, but now…she hopes that things are different. That he'll let her in.

But, right now, letting Maggie in isn't Hal's priority, and they don't have time.

"Later. Ok?" He tells her, after letting out a small breath, he steps past her and walks away, towards his bags.

Maggie watches, helplessly, as Hal walks away from her. She thought that they'd made a break through. That he might let her in. She knows she is one to talk - she's never let Hal in far enough. She's only ever let him in to the borders of the walls that she keeps up, at all times. The walls protect her from the darkness, and from the hounds at the door that are screaming to get in, and the memories. But, the walls fail to protect her from the pain.

She doesn't want Hal to feel this way, though. She won't give up on him. Not again. She won't lose him again, not when she's come so dangerously close to losing him before.

The Second Mass leaves, Charleston, the same way that they entered; an escort from Colonel Porter, and his men.

After filling the cars with fuel, and packing them up with supplies, weapons, all other necessities, and then finally people, the Second Mass are ready to go. They're waiting for the all clear, for Maggie and Dai to come back from burying the skitter.

And when they do come back; they come back with another body; the limp, bloodied and almost dead, body of Reece Cane.

* * *

**A/N: My apologies for the late update. Really busy week this week. Not with studying or exams, just busy. I hope that you enjoy this one. I'll try to update again tomorrow, and the next two days after that. And then, I shall start studying like a crazy person.**

**I just want to say thank you very much to everyone who reads my story, reviews, favourites or follows, it means a lot so thank you.**

**To the guest reviewer; Alice; who posted on chapter 26:  
Thanks! I'll try to update as frequently as I can :) Thanks for sending the good vibes :) I hope you like this one! Thanks so much for the review and for reading.**

**To the guest reviewer; Guest; who posted on chapter 26:  
Wow! thanks so much for saying that. It means a lot. And thank you very much for the review, and for reading.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this one!**

**X**


	28. He'll be a scar, now

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The weather had worsened as they had left Charleston; dark clouds had filled the sky, cracks of lighting had echoed in the silence, and droplets of rain had fallen at the beginning, but they were waiting for their moment to break loose and drench the Second Mass. A storm is coming, and there isn't much they could do to stop that.

Hal rode, with Pope and his boy Benjamin, in the truck that he had planned on riding with Maggie. But, Maggie hadn't as so much as glanced at Hal when they had found Reece's body. She'd insisted on staying in the med truck, which Anthony was driving, with Anne, Tom, Ben and Matt.

When they'd carried Reece's body back, Hal had look straight to Maggie, but she hadn't looked at him; her face was pale, her forehead was covered in both beads of sweat and droplets of rain, and her eyes were empty. Her emotions were unreadable, and she was unreachable. She didn't speak a word as Dai and Tector had carried his body on the med bus.

Hal had wanted to go after her, to say something, to say anything, but his feet hadn't moved. A feeling, similar to that of being stuck in cement, had overcome him, and instead he'd gotten into his truck.

Now, as Maggie sits on an empty bed on the med bus, her eyes don't lift from the ground.

Anne and Lourdes had done all that they could from Reece; he had received two bullets to his stomach, they'd gone straight through, but he'd lost a lot of blood. And then Anne had said the words that Maggie had expected her to, "It's up to him now."

Life is uncertain, messy, chaotic, and painful and it never slows down. Maggie wonders if she has any control over her own life or her own death. You don't really have any say in how you die, unless you take that matter into your own hands. And well, your life – most of the time life is out of your control. And just when you think it is about to slow down, after such a chaotic, painful time, it doesn't. Things get messier and darker.

The darkness, that you'd swore to yourself you'd always fight, is still at your door, and it's still screaming out. And, in Maggie's state at the moment, she's not sure how much longer she can fight it off. All that she can think of now is her boy. All she can see are his beautiful, innocent eyes.

"How much longer?" Benjamin asks Pope, as pulls his attention away from the trees they are passing and to his Dad.

"Couple hours. Get some sleep," Pope tells him.

He moves, an inch closer to Hal, giving Benjamin room to pull his feet up onto the car seat. He pulls himself in, closer to Pope, and rests his head on Pope's knee.

After Benjamin is asleep, fifteen minutes later, Pope finally speaks.

"So, did you kill him?" Pope asks Hal, casually, as he pulls a flask out of his jacket pocket.

"Orange juice," Pope adds, lying, as he pulls off the lid with his teeth, spits it onto the floor of the truck and then drinks from it.

"So…did you do it?" Pope asks again.

"No." Hal answers, sharply, keeping his eyes on the road.

Pope shrugs, and after taking another sip of 'orange juice', he says, "Might have to do better than that to convince Mags…."

Hal keeps his mouth closed, and his eyes on the road. He knows Maggie; they have something, a bond, that has been through so much, and he knows she wouldn't think that of him. She'd never assume that, or think of Hal that way.

"That's where you're wrong. You see…I know Maggie, better than you ever did, and she wouldn't think that. Not for a second. What you're doing…the trouble you're trying to cause, between us….it's not going to work, Pope." Hal answers, with a hint of anger in his voice.

He's trying to control himself. He won't let Pope wind at the mind games that he plays.

"Trouble?" Pope scoffs, as he takes another sip. "I'm not trying to cause trouble between you, and Mags…"

"Then what are you doing? Because, you're not fooling anyone here with your 'father' act – you're only sticking around until it suits you. And then you'll be gone. So, until that day comes, why don't you keep your mouth shut?" Hal asks, he looks back at Pope once before turning back to the road.

"You've got some balls, boy, saying that to me. I know you think you're tough now, 'cause of those sticks they put in your back – don't forget, Mason junior, I did save not only your life today, but your brothers, and those skitters – push me, and I'd just as happily put a bullet through your skull, or your brothers, without hesitation. Remember that." Pope says; he speaks with a threatening tone, and says each word slowly so that he won't have to repeat himself for Hal.

"Hey…how are you doing?" Anne asks, Maggie, as she takes a seat down next to her on the empty bed she had been sitting on for over an hour.

"Fine – I'm fine," Maggie says, clearing her throat as she speaks. Her voice is shaky and raw as she does.

What Maggie is feeling now; the pain, the fear, the sadness – a small, tiny fraction of that is because Reece could die. What is really hurting her are Reece's eyes. All Maggie sees, when she looks at Reece, is her boy. And how she let him down; she let him go. God knows where he could be now; dead, or worse; in pain. She'd rather he'd feel nothing, and be at peace, then feel any amount of pain. He'd be too young to be harnessed; he would've turned four last month.

"How have you been feeling lately?" Anne asks casually.

But it isn't a casual question. They both know that. She's checking on Maggie, to see if she has any symptoms of brain cancer, or cellulitis. Maggie had forgotten, briefly, about the possibility of cancer. Any fears that she had felt, about it, had melted away when Hal had come to her. But, he'd only come back briefly. Her fears had returned in his absence.

"Look, Maggie…I know this is hard on you. But, if this is cellulitis, and it isn't treated – it's very likely that it could spread to your bloodstream, which could cause sepsis. That's a very serious infection of the bloodstream – I don't think you understand how-" Anne speaks softly, and as calmly as she can.

"I understand, Anne. I do. But that isn't my highest concern right now. No, that would be Hal. What operation is he having?" Maggie asks Anne, loudly.

Tom, who is sitting on the couch at the end of the bus with a sleeping Matt, and Ben who never seems to sleep, looks up at Maggie as she speaks.

A small frown forms on Anne's face; she has no idea what Maggie is talking about.

"Operation?" Anne asks, still with a frown.

"Hal was talking, to Tom and another man, about an operation…." Maggie stops, as she lifts her gaze to Tom, who is watching the two of them.

Anne turns, slowly, to look at Tom, as she says, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Maggie."

"Hal's not having an operation," Tom tells them both, quietly, as he stands from his seat. He puts down the book that he was reading, on an empty chair, and walks towards them.

"Dad….You're in denial." Ben says; as softly as he can, so Matt is not woken.

Ben knows that Hal will not give in; he's never been one to give in. Before the invasion, before all of this…Hal didn't give up easily. He wouldn't give over the remote when the football was on. He wouldn't get out of the bathroom until he was ready. He is, and always has been, determined to get what he wants; what he thinks is right and what he thinks is necessary. Sometimes, like now, his determination wasn't always the best thing.

Hal is so determined to do this, to test Doctor Kadar's theory, that he's blinded to all the things that could go wrong.

Tom lets out a small, defeated sigh and lifts his hands to his face, and then he runs them over his hair and to the back of his neck, where they rest for a moment until finally dropping to his side.

"Maggie….Hal should…I shouldn't be telling you this. Hal should." Tom says, as he walks closer towards Maggie, keeping his eyes on her.

"He won't." Maggie answers, quickly.

She'd heard earlier, and despite Maggie's trying, Hal hadn't given in.

"He won't tell me, Tom. And….I just want to be there, for him," Maggie says, softly.

Tom nods, slowly, and grabs onto a rail for support as the road that they are travelling on becomes rockier.

"The man that you saw Hal, and I, talking to is Doctor Roger Kadar. He has a theory….about…." Tom stops; he looks back to Ben and is silent.

So, Ben finishes his sentence; but it is not exactly the way Tom would've said it.

"To stop the freaks from turning into skitters," Ben says.

Tom shakes his head, still watching Ben, as he says, "You're not a freak, Ben."

Ben holds his father's eye contact, for a minute, before finally dropping his eyes to the floor. He doesn't want to have this fight again. How Ben feels about himself; and how he thinks people see him, in comparison to Tom's thoughts, will always be different.

Tom is, and probably always will be, willing to believe that there is good inside everyone. Even if it's small, tiny, damaged or rotten by badness, there is still good. There is still a chance for everyone to change; to be better people. He is pure hearted – but, Ben thinks that this makes Tom somewhat naive. To think that everyone is good hearted and pure is wrong - because there is darkness in everyone; some more than others. And in some people, there is nothing but darkness where the light used to be.

And, despite Toms' hopes and faiths, there is not always a solution to every problem. Like the possibility of de-harnessed, and harnessed, children becoming skitters. There may not be a solution to that. But Tom can't see that.

Maggie sits, silent, frowning for a minute. When she speaks, her voice is shaky, "What process?" She asks.

Anne isn't frowning, though. She knows, all too well, what process Tom and Ben are talking about. The possibility that de-harnessed and harnessed children could turn into skitters. The harness found on the skitter, Ben's scabs, and the girl with the claws – could all be linked to this possibility, the possibility of a process.

"To remove the spikes?" Maggie asks.

Tom nods slowly and solemnly.

Maggie pushes her hair behind her ears, and then runs her hands across to her mouth, where they rest on her lips for a second before dropping to her lap.

"So, what happened to sharing each-others burden?" Anne asks, as she stands and takes a step closer to Tom. She speaks softly, so that only Tom will hear her words.

"It's…it was. Now isn't the time, Anne." Tom answers.

Not now; not when Matt could wake, and hear Tom's words. He doesn't want to talk to Anne about this in front of his boys, and in front of Maggie.

They drive, for twelve more hours, before coming to an abrupt stop when the truck in front of them stops. Weaver steps out, and informs them that they'll be pulling over, for the night; a few hours of rest for the civilians; while the soldiers will set up perimeters around the camp.

The trucks, cars, bikes and med bus are directed off the road, and deeper into the forest – for protection.

Once everything his tent is set up, Weaver calls Tom in, so that they can discuss their next move.

After setting everything up, and after failing to find Hal anywhere, Maggie sneaks out of the perimeters with a rifle, and walks for ten minutes, until she finds Hal.

It's darker now, the sun is setting; the rain is still falling, but its light, and Maggie doesn't notice it. The thunder has stopped, but the sky is still dark; the storm is still coming.

Maggie finds Hal, down by a lake, sitting on the dry land, staring out at the clear green and blue water, which appears calm; there are, however, a few ripples on the surface from tiny pebbles that Hal had thrown across it minutes earlier.

He looks up at her, from the ground, with this unreadable face; the face that Maggie has fallen for. She gives him a small smile, as she walks down towards him. There is a silence between them as she takes a seat next to him.

"Go on, ask it." Hal tells her, breaking the silence.

Maggie frowns at him, as she asks, "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Maggie. We both know what you're thinking," He says, with a dark tone that's almost accusing; accusing her of being a liar.

"I don't… Why don't you tell me what I'm thinking, since you know?" She asks, teasing, with the hint of the smile.

Hal doesn't smile back, though.

"You want to know if I shot him. If I shot Reece," Hal says; there is more darkness in his voice this time, more pain and anger.

Maggie shakes her head, softly she says, "No, never."

Maggie will never give up on Hal, she will never leave him, and she will never stop feeling, whatever it is she feels, towards him. And, she will never see him for anything but what he truly is: pure, good hearted, brave, courageous, strong, and loving.

It isn't in Hal's nature to be violent, to be angry – except, against the aliens. Not against other humans, though. Sure, he dislikes Pope, and he doesn't like Reece in the slightest, but Maggie knows, in her heart, that he would not act on those feelings.

Hal looks at her, with something similar to a wide-eyed curiosity. It's like, there's something new to Maggie, something he's never seen before. He has seen it before – he just hasn't seen it in a long time; unquestionable, unwavering and complete trust.

"It didn't cross my mind." She tells him, honestly.

Hal lies back, onto the shore, and rests his left hand on the back of his neck and rests his head on his inner arm; which acts like something similar to a pillow. He closes his heavy, heavy eyelids and lets out a long, deep breath. The hauntings have come back; frequently today. And added on top of these already powerful, and maddening hauntings, is the death of the skitter that he was connected to.

Hal hasn't spoken about it, to anyone yet, and he doesn't plan to. The feeling of being connected to someone, through their mind, in their last seconds before they die, and feeling their pain is…it's too painful for Hal to speak about, let alone think about. But, today, and for the entire car trip with Pope, it's all that he thought about.

"Are you going to lay down with me?" Hal asks Maggie.

Like old times; he thinks. They aren't in the meadow of purple flowers this time, but there are white and blue flowers above them, hanging down from the shaggy, thick grass. The sound of running water is soothing for Hal; as is the icy touch of the air, and droplets of rain, against his skin.

"Are you going to tell me about the operation?" Maggie asks, watching Hal with such intensity that he feels like she can see inside of him.

He can't have that. He can't let her in, because she'd see the beast within, and she'd leave. He knows that she would. Even if she didn't leave immediately, she'd leave later.

"Maggie…." Hal says, letting out a deep, tired sigh as he says her name.

He is so tired. He just wants to lay with her, on the shore, and not talk about anything. Not think about anything. Just to be together, for a moment, in peace.

"Are you?" She asks again.

Hal sighs, as he pulls himself up into a seated position, he rubs his elbows like it's sore and then scratches the side of his head, before dropping his hands to the ground.

"Who told you?" He asks.

Maggie shakes her head, as she tells him, "Don't answer my question with a question."

They both have a tendency to do that, when they are avoiding something.

"You know…Maggie. I said later, and it's not later. Ok?" Hal says, with annoyance in his voice, as he stands.

He doesn't want to have this conversation with her, now, and if he can avoid it, never. Maggie is persistent, though, the most persistent person that he knows.

She stands as he does, and prevents him from walking away by putting her hands up, against his chest, stopping him physically.

"Tom told me. Why are you doing this?" She asks.

Hal shakes his head, slowly, as he tells her with a gentle voice, "I don't want to talk about this."

"You can't avoid it." She answers back, sharply.

"Why can't I?" Hal asks her, slightly irritated. "Did you really think that I forget about the possibility that your cancer is back? I didn't. It's all that I think about. But you're avoiding it. You're not talking about it. And I'm not going to make you, because I know you don't want to. But, there will be a time when you have to, and when that time comes I'll be there."

Maggie doesn't lift her eyes from Hal's, and all she says is, "This is different."

It is different, in so many ways to Maggie. Hal's life, to her, is more important than anything. He is the most important thing to her, and she won't lose him.

"How so?" He asks, calming slightly.

"Because it's you, Hal. You're –" Maggie begins, but before she finishes Hal knows what she will say.

They've had a conversation similar to this before; when Hal had risked himself for Maggie, when she'd almost died and he went back for her, and she'd told him he shouldn't have.

"More important?" Hal asks, finishing her words.

"Yes. You have people who care about you, you're family."

"That's where you're wrong, Maggie. You're just as important as I am." Hal says, as he takes a step away from her, removing her hands from his chest.

"Talk to me Hal," She says, almost pleading, as she watches him run his hand over his hair, and then to the back of his neck.

His fingers stop of the first spike, and he seems to almost shudder at the touch.

"What should I say, Maggie? Tell me what to say – be-because I don't know, Maggie, how to – I could be turning….You don't. No. The operation is to remove the spikes, and to stop….the process." Hal tells her; while he speaks, and even when he stops, he looks as though he might be sick.

The thought of what could happen to Hal makes him want to vomit. It makes him want to pull the spikes out of his back, right now, so that things can go back to how they used to be.

But, they both know they can't go back. Nothing can go back to how things used to be. They can't afford to look back, into the past, when the future is so dangerous.

When Hal lifts his eyes, from his feet, Maggie is standing a few feet in front of him.

"Don't do this, Hal." She says, softly, almost pleading.

There are so many things that could go wrong; so many dangerous possibilities. And Maggie won't lose Hal, not when she has just got him back.

Hal looks down at her, with sad, empty hollow eyes as he says, "I have to."

He won't turn into one of the things he hates the most. He won't let his brother face that same fate. They will continue to fight against the aliens; they won't be mistaken for the aliens. He won't lose those he loves and cares about. He won't change; because one of Hal's biggest fears is that the aliens have, or will, change him into a monster, a beast that he cannot control.

"No, no." Maggie says, shaking her head, as she raises her hands to Hal's cheeks, she lowers his head so that he's looking at her, right into her eyes and into her heart.

"You are such a good, honest person Hal, with such a strong, pure heart. And nothing – not the harness, not the spikes, and not the aliens will change that. Nothing could ever change that, Hal, and nothing ever will," She tells him.

These words are true; they both know that. The darkness that is clouding Hal had prevented him from seeing it, earlier. Now, he sees what is true. Now he can see the light, the daylight, which has broken through some parts of the darkness. There isn't much light; but it's enough to give Hal some hope.

"I have to do this, Maggie," He tells her, as her hands slide down from his cheeks and fall to his necks, where they remain.

She lets out a deep sigh. She doesn't want Hal to do this; to risk himself for a possibility.

And so, she gives in to Hal. Despite her fear, which is saying to fight Hal on this, she gives in. "Ok." She answers, quietly.

"What if you – what if we don't make it through this?" She asks Hal, as he hands fall away from him entirely.

But, as she pulls away and her hands hit her side, Hal takes her left hand with his right and holds it.

"We will. We always do." He answers.

On the surface; he is confident they'll make it. On the inside; he's worried he won't. He's worried about all that he could lose. But, he's more worried about what could happen to his brother if he doesn't go through with this.

"That's my point. How many more chances do you think we've got left? Until our luck runs out?" Maggie questions.

Hal watches her, with his hazel eyes, as his grip on her hand tightens; in a reassuring way.

"Well…." He begins; and his charming, beautiful smile breaks through as he says, "Fate owes us a few more favours. I think."

"Well – since you are, indeed, throwing favours around, how 'bout you throw one this way?" A deep, unfamiliar, mocking voice calls out.

There is a small laugh that follows the voice, followed by the sound a gun cocking.

Now, Hal can see the man who is speaking. A man, with thick black hair that is pushed back off his face, however a few strands have fallen in front of his blue, almost grey, eyes. He has a tattoo, underneath his right eye, something similar to an X. His cheeks are hollow, and pale. His face is covered with dirt, blood, and faded scars. His hair is shaggy, and messy. He's wearing a rolled up long-sleeved, white shirt with black buttons, covered in a grey vest with a black, leather hoodie over the top. His hands are covered with fingerless, frayed gloves. On his arms, many tattoos and scars can be seen, as can pieces of string which are frayed and silver watch; what stands out on him, however, is a fragment of clothing; something torn from a red shirt.

He makes a 'tsk' sound, as he sees Maggie's fingers fall to her rifle, so he raises his gun to the back of her head. "Now, now sweetheart. Let's not make any rash decisions, ey?" He suggests.

His left hand, which was resting on the gun, drops from it to his chest, and a laboured breath escapes his lips; Hal sees now the blood the stains his chest, the blood that now covers his hands.

"Now, where were we?" The man asks Maggie, as he snatches the gun from her hand and slings it over his shoulder. He keeps the gun pointed to the back of her head, as he does this.

Then, he grabs her by the back of her neck and pulls her a step backwards, away from Hal.

"I've got three grenades on me, love, don't do anything stupid," He warns Hal, whom he noticed had tense up when he'd pulled the girl backwards.

"What do you want?" Hal asks; he is trying his hardest to remain calm.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can find the mongrel that goes by the name Reece Cane, would you?"

"If we did, what's it to you?" Hal questions, with a deep frown.

The man, who grimaces in pain, says, "Let's just say – we're old friends. If you have him here, and you bring him to me, she goes free. But, if you don't bring him, and you have him...well, let's just say me, and Big Bertha here," He says, gesturing to the much large rifle gun that hangs off his left side. "We'll have ourselves some fun."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of your support (everyone who reviews, reads, follows, favourites) It means so much to know you're still enjoying this, and I hope that you continue to.**

**I wasn't too sure about this chapter, I don't know how I feel about it - so let me know what you think about this chapter, and the new character addition?**

**P.s Some spoilers: Mason family confrontation coming up; and other confrontations between characters I won't name. More explosions, blood and guts (okay, maybe not guts) and more bonding moments between Maggie/Hal, Maggie/Tector, Tector/Dai, Hal and his brothers, and his father. + More Red-Eye coming in future chapters (I like him) And, of course, more skies falling.**

**Thanks so much for all the support. It really means a lot.**

**P.s Big thank you to my sister, who lets me ramble for hours and hours about falling skies, and my story. Thank you!**

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Xx**


	29. I will still let her bleed, all over me

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"Don't stand there, with your mouth gaping open love. You either got him, or you don't? Which one is it?" The man asks; his patience is running thin, as is his strength.

With a bullet to the chest, it's a miracle that he's standing. He can feel himself growing tired, growing weaker. He doesn't have time to waste. He doesn't have much time left at all.

"We got him." Hal says, speaking finally.

Hal's eyes don't leave Maggie's as he speaks. He can see a flash of regret in her eyes. Despite all that Reece is, all he has done to her – there is something about him, some connection between the two of them. Well, maybe not between the two of them. But there is a connection there, a bond linking Maggie to her son. But, Hal doesn't care for Reece at all. And now, given this choice, Hal chooses Maggie over Reece.

"Good boy. Now run off, and bring him down here to me. You come back just with him, I see anyone else, Bertha won't be happy. You got it?" The man asks.

Hal nods, slowly. "Ok," He answers.

"If you hurt her…." Hal begins.

Hal knows exactly what he'll do if the man hurts Maggie; he'll let the beast out.

The man nods, as he says, "You have my word – bring him, and she won't get hurt."

"Go on. You're wasting time. You got ten minutes," The man says, gesturing to his watch with his eyes. "Now, you have nine minutes, and fifty seven seconds." He adds.

"I'll be right back," Hal calls out, to Maggie, as he steps past them.

"You better run, boy, 'cause times a wasting," The man mumbles, quietly, as he pulls Maggie away from Hal, gently, and towards a log.

"Sit." He tells her, ordering her to sit on the fallen tree log.

She follows his orders, and sits down, slowly, on the log.

This is the first time Maggie has laid eyes on the man, who is holding her at gun point. She can see a few tattoos; his hair is messy and knotted, he has the beginnings of a shaggy beard. He looks tired; but not old. Probably mid to late thirties, Maggie thinks.

The man takes a seat down, next to Maggie on the log, and lets out a small breath as his hands, which have suddenly become shaky, lift his jacket coat to the side so that he may better inspect himself.

"You were shot?" Maggie asks, her eyes which had fallen to his bloodied shirt rise up to meet his eyes.

"Nothing – it's a cat scratch," The man answers, as he covers the wound and pulls out a small black lighter, and then a silver case, which when opens revealed four cigarettes.

Before taking one, the man tilts the case towards Maggie, offering her one. When Maggie shakes her head, the man shrugs and pulls one out, placing it between his dry lips, he lights it and exhales.

"You know, it's nothing personal love. I'm just trying to get my boy back." The man tells her, through a breath of smoke.

Maggie sighs, pushes her hair behind her ears and asks, "What are you going to do with him?"

"Oh, you don't want to know." He mutters. "Sorry – how rude of me," He says, loudly, as he shoves his case and lighter into the pocket of his coat.

"My apologies – the name is Joseph Thatcher," He says, with the lit cigarette hanging from his mouth as he extends his right hand.

His left hand remains on the wound, keeping pressure.

Maggie hesitates as her eyes fall to his hands, and then back to his eyes.

"Come on, love, I don't bite." He says, with a small smile.

"Maggie." She answers, after a moment, when she finally shakes his hand.

"Maggie? Just Maggie?" He asks her.

She nods, slowly. "Just Maggie."

"Ok, just Maggie. You know…about all this, if there was another way-" Joseph begins, he seems to have calmed down, he stops speaking at the sound of footsteps.

He looks up, just in time, to see an unfamiliar man, the man Maggie recognises as Tector, with a rifle. He shoots it at Joseph just as he ducks but the bullet grazes his jacket.

Joseph jumps down behind the tree log, pulling Maggie down with him; he keeps one hand tightly around the back of her jacket and the other on his rifle.

His breathing worsens, as his vision does and the pain becomes stronger; not because of the bullet grazing on the side of his neck - no he doesn't feel that, the pain is stronger because when he jumped down behind the log, and onto the ground, he had accidentally hit his stomach, where the bullet went in, on a sharp rock.

Joseph pulls his hand, away from Maggie, and clutches at his stomach. He rests his head down, onto the dirt, and lets out an aggravated moan. He mutters a bunch of curse words as he puts out his cigarette in the dirt. He just wants his boy back, that's all.

"Go." He says, weakly, to Maggie, as he looks up at her from the ground.

"What?" Maggie asks, frowning, she hadn't heard what he said.

"Get out of here. Go on," He tells her. "Before it gets messy." He adds, as he lifts the rifle named Bertha up, over his shoulder, and rests it on the top of the log.

Joseph's eyes close at the sound of a gun cocking, to his left. He'd been preoccupied with his pain that he hadn't noticed that Maggie had taken the small hand gun out of his right pocket.

"Have you got eyes on them?" Hal calls out to Tector, who is a few feet away from him standing behind a tree, for protection.

"I'll go in further, keep my back." Tector tells Hal, Anthony and Dai.

Dai goes right, Anthony goes left and Hal walks behind Tector.

Suddenly, Tector raises his gun, hand on the trigger ready to fire at the figure that had stood up.

"Don't fire!" Hal yells out, loudly.

Because, the figure standing is Maggie, not the mad man with the rifles.

"Jesus…" Tector mutters, as he drops his gun. He'd almost killed Maggie.

"Damn it, Maggie!" Tector calls out, as he runs his hands over his mouth.

"Took your time." Maggie calls back, as Joseph stands slowly.

He stands not because Maggie has the gun on him, because he could easily overpower her and take it, but because this could potentially be his ticket into their group, and his ticket to seeing Reece.

"Keep your hands up," Maggie warns Joseph, as he takes a step over the log.

He stumbles as he does, and barely misses hitting the ground. He's weak, and can barely stand straight.

"You got me. Now what?" Joseph asks, looking at the younger boy whom he'd sent off to get Reece.

"You okay?" Hal asks Maggie.

She nods, "I'm fine, Hal."

"Now what?" Joseph asks again, louder.

"Hand over your weapons," Hal tells him.

From the guns that Hal can see, on the outside of Joseph's body, he can count four rifles, including Maggie's. But, that's not including the abundance of guns in his bag, the pocket knives in both of his combats boots, and his pockets.

"Over my dead body," Joseph answers, with a small smile.

"If you insist; you're going to bleed out, we'll just wait till then. Or, you hand over your weapons, and we can get you some medical attention?" Dai suggests.

"Can you know?" Joseph questions. "That's great. Nice offer. It's real tempting, but…as I said earlier, over my dead body."

Joseph's eyes fall down to the grass, beneath him; some of the blades are read, with his blood. Now, everything becomes unsteady, the world seems to tip sideways, and Joseph falls with it; he falls down into the grass, at the bottom of a tree.

And as he feels everything slow down, and his eyes shut involuntary, Joseph is swallowed up by a raging darkness, and a roaring loneliness.

"Hal," Ben calls out, through the tents, as he spots Hal walking, to where exactly he is walking neither is sure.

Sometimes, Hal gets lost in his mind, and his feet take him to unknown places. Today, his feet have led him past the med bus, and towards open land.

"What's up?" Hal answers, he stops walking so that he can talk to Ben.

Ben lets out a small, somewhat nervous sigh, as he says, "I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh really, about what?" Hal asks, turning to look at Ben completely.

Ben's hesitation and silence gives Hal his answer: the operation.

"Ben…." Hal begins; he sounds slightly annoyed.

Hal knows that Ben is worried; that he doesn't want him to do this, but it's something that Hal knows, in his heart, that he has to do. And nothing will get in his way.

"Don't Hal – just listen. Hear me out, okay?" Ben asks, almost pleading.

Hal lets out a small sigh, and nods as he says, "Go on, then."

"You don't have to do this. I know that you think you do, you feel like you have an obligation to yourself, or to Dad, or to me to do this. But you really don't, Hal. You don't have to do this, okay. So don't," Ben says; he speaks softly, and with a slightly nervous tone.

Hal is his brother, he doesn't want to lose him; ever.

Hal shakes his head, slowly, his voice is soft and surprisingly calm and gentle as he says, "It's not just for me, or for you. It's for everyone like us. It could save hundreds of lives."

Ben nods; it _could_ save hundreds of lives. Or, it could not work, and Hal could lose his life.

"And you could lose yours." Ben answers; he doesn't drop his eyes from Hal's.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Hal tells him; his voice is unwavering, as is his confidence. He won't give in on this, nothing can change his mind. Not Tom, not Maggie and not Ben.

"But I'm not," Ben tells Hal.

He isn't going to let his brother risk his life on what _could_ be.

Hal lets out a small sigh, he lifts his hands and runs them over the top of his head and then down to his neck, where they rest for a minute. Finally, his hands drop to his sides, and he tilts his head slightly to the side.

Hal calmly says, "It's not your decision, Ben."

"And it's not yours," Ben answers, quickly. "You don't get it, do you? You're my brother. I don't want to lose," Ben adds.

They're brothers. They're supposed to grow up, together. Live life, together.

"You won't." Hal answers, softly, as he takes a step forward, towards Ben.

Ben shakes his head, as he takes a step back from Hal. He had tried to stay calm, to try to rationally convince Hal not to do this. But nothing seems to be getting through to Hal, lately. And he won't give up, he won't lose his brother.

"This isn't high school, Hal." Ben spits out.

Hal frowns, slightly, with a hint of a smile on his face.

"What?" Hal asks, still with the smile of confusion on his face.

"This isn't high school. You don't get everything that you want. Not everything is perfect. Not everything works out – this could go wrong, Hal."

The smile disappears, completely, from Hal's face. Now, it is Hal who backs away. As he does; Ben can see a mix of pain, anger and something else, in Hal's eyes.

"High school wasn't perfect…." Hal begins, but Ben speaks over him.

"Really? You were the popular, lacrosse playing jock on the football team, with the cheerleader girlfriends."

The smile reappears, on Hal's face; but it isn't a genuine smile, or a happy one. It's a smile of disbelief.

"You don't know anything, ok?" Hal answers, because those are the only words that he can find right now.

"I-I…." Hal stops, as he scratches just underneath his right eye. "You don't get a say in this. So don't say anything, alright." Hal says, almost warning Ben to keep out of this.

Hal takes one last, longer, look at Ben before shaking his head; he drops his hands to his side and steps past Ben.

"How is he?" Maggie asks Lourdes, as she steps onto the med bus.

She's asking about Reece, not about Joseph.

"We moved him, to a tent. While he's here," Lourdes answers; referring to Joseph, who is passed out on one of the med beds.

Anne had removed what was left of the bullet, and fixed up the wound. When she was done, Weaver had ordered that he be handcuffed, until it could be determined if he was a friend, or enemy, or just a mad man.

"Ok." Maggie nods, slowly.

Her eyes fall down to Joseph, who is stirring in his bed. His eyes open, slowly, and one his vision becomes clear they dart around the room – past Maggie, and Lourdes and Anne, and then to his right hand which is handcuffed to the right side of the bed. His left hand has also been cuffed, to the right side of the bed.

"What the..." He mutters; dazed and tired.

"Go get the Captain," Anne whispers, to Lourdes. She nods, and steps of the bus.

"Hi, my name is Doctor Glass-" Anne begins, but Joseph stops her.

"It's a pleasure, Doctor Glass. Now, if you would be so kind as to remove me, from these chains?" Joseph questions, as he struggles in the chains, trying to break the handcuffs.

"Or….I'll have to find my own way out, but that would be more difficult for both of us, wouldn't it?" He asks, as he continues trying to pull his hands out of the cuffs.

His attempts fail, and he ends up tiring himself out and hurting his wrists.

Finally, he turns to Maggie, and says, "Just Maggie – come on, love. I saved your life, how about we return the favour?"

Maggie shakes her head as she says, "Na, I'm good."

"Yeah, well, your boy Reece – he isn't going to be so _good_ when I get out of here. And believe me when I say, I'll get out. Then I'll gut the son-" Joseph begins; he speaks each word calmly, but with a hint of aggression when he said he'll get out. He stops speaking at the sound of footsteps, up the stairs of the bus.

"Anne, Lourdes, Maggie – a moment, alone?" Weaver asks, as he steps up onto the med bus.

Anne nods, "Of course, Captain," She answers.

The three of them step past Weaver, leaving him alone with Tom, who has just joined him.

As Tom passes Anne, he gives a quick smile, which she returns.

"To what do I owe the audience, Captain?" Joseph questions, as he finally stops trying to break free of the handcuffs.

Now, he realises, his bags and belongings are nowhere in sight.

He makes a 'tsk' sound, as a small smile appears on his face. "Where are my bags?" He asks; through gritted teeth.

"Why don't you answer some of our questions?" Tom suggests.

"Go on, then. Ask away," Joseph answers, as he drops his head down to the pillow, watching the two men in front of him intently as he does.

Tom begins by saying, "My name is Tom Mason, and this is Captain Dan Weaver."

"Well, if we're being formal – Sergeant Joseph Thatcher," Joseph tells them.

Weaver frowns at this. He isn't sure that he heard the man properly.

"Sergeant?" Weaver asks; checking that was what Joseph had said.

"Mmm." Joseph nods his head to the Captain.

"What-" Weaver begins, but Joseph stops him.

Joseph says, speaking loudly but calmly, "All due respect, Captain, but it's none of your business, or your concern."

"What business do you have with the Second Mass?" Tom questions.

"I've got no business with you, Tom Mason. I've got business with the boy, Reece Mason. I've been tracking him, for a while. And, the tracks led me here," Joseph answers.

"What business do you have with Reece?" Tom questions.

"Not your concern," Joseph answers back, quickly.

"It is my concern, Joseph, when you put members of the Second Mass' life at risk," Tom answers; he speaks quickly, and with obvious anger.

"I just want to talk to him. That's all I've wanted," Joseph tells them, with a calm voice. "That's all I've wanted." He repeats.

Weaver nods, slowly. "How'd you get the wound?" Weaver questions.

"I got that one from one of your guys," Joseph answers.

"Not the grazing," Weaver tells him.

Joseph hesitates before speaking. His voice is low, and shaky, as he says, "Tried to…Hm. Let's just say I wasn't planning on living this long."

"You tried to kill yourself? With a bullet to your…lower stomach?" Weaver asks, frowning slightly.

"I had my fingers crossed it'd hit my heart, but, what do you know? I suppose I was too drunk to shoot straight. Now, to more important matters, can I see him?" Joseph answers, as he avoids Weaver's gaze and looks over at Tom.

Joseph lets out a small, nervous sigh before speaking.

"Look….my son, he's gone missing. And I think that your boy Reece, he might have seen him. I know I went about this the wrong way….but it's my son. I'd do anything for my son." Joseph says, appealing to the softer, father in Tom.

Joseph had guessed that Tom Mason was so angry about what he had done because the boy he'd sent back to get Reece was his son. It was just a theory. And, Tom proves this theory correct by letting out a small sigh.

Tom throws Weaver a look; a slight nod, saying that they should let Joseph talk to Reece.

Weaver looks down to Joseph as he says, "You both need some rest. Tomorrow morning."

"Doctor Glass?" Joseph calls out, politely, when Anne returns.

Apart from Joseph, Lourdes, Anne and two other sleeping patients, the bus is empty.

"Yes?" She answers, as she steps towards his bed.

His face is sweaty, his eyes are closed and he seems to be breathing slower. He reopens his eyes, when she joins him. His voice is almost incoherent when he speaks, "Could you…." He begins, but stops to let out a small sigh.

"I don't like the dark, Doctor Glass. I never have. Could you set up a light or something…?" He asks her; his voice is soft, and gentle, with a hint of embarrassment.

"I know. It's childish," He mumbles to himself. "Just, after these crawlies came down here…." Joseph adds, as he closes his eyes.

Anne nods. "I can do that," She says, with a small smile.

After searching, for a few minutes, Anne finds a small glass lamp, in which she places a candle and lights it with a match.

"How is this?" She asks him, placing the candle on the bench near the end of Joseph's bed.

"Perfect. Thanks, love." He answers, still with closed eyes.

Anne answers, softly, "Try and sleep. If it burns out, I'll relight it."

"Thanks, very much, Doctor Glass." Joseph answers, softly.

"What are you doing out here?" Maggie asks, Hal, as she steps out of Reece's tent.

"I could ask you the same thing." He answers back; with a voice that Maggie can't read.

She can't tell if he's mad, or calm, or both.

Maggie nods, slowly. She drops her eyes her combat boots, and then back up to Hal, who is still watching her.

"You want to take a walk?" Hal asks Maggie, finally.

"Na, I'm tired." She answers. "But…" Maggie says, when she sees a little light, a little hope in Hal's eyes disappear.

"If you want, you could join me? We always seem to sleep better, together." She says; her voice becomes softer, and more nervous, towards the end of that sentence.

Are they together? What are they? What is this? Maggie has so many unanswered questions for Hal. But they'll have to wait for another night, because Hal looks tired exhausted. He looks like he hasn't slept for days - If only Maggie knew that Hal hasn't slept for more than an hour a night, since he was harnessed.

"Na, I'm tired." Hal teases, as his gorgeous, cheeky smile returns.

That smile of Hal's that still, and probably always will, drive Maggie insane. The smile that gives her hope; it makes her forget about all of the unanswered questions, and for a moment it pushes out the darkness that is haunting at her door every other minute of the day. And when Maggie smiles back at Hal, he feels the exact same thing as her.

Maggie watches Hal, still with that smile that he's fallen in love with, and says, "Fine, if that's what you want."

"I've gotta say, Maggie, I'm a little hurt…You really think that's what I want? Do you really think I'd go sleep alone, when I could spend the night with you? It's like you don't know me at all," Hal says, as he tries to hide his smile.

A small laugh passes Maggie's lips; she raises her eyebrows at him as she says, "What's my last name?"

"What?" He frowns slightly, but the smile stays on his face.

"You heard me. What's my last name, Hal Mason?" She asks him, again, still with her teasing smile. "You think I don't know you. I do. You don't know me. What's my last name?"

"Well…." Hal begins; he coughs twice and laughs, dryly. "Margaret…Son? Margaret Anne? You know, you never told me your last name."

"My name is not Margaret Son. Or Margaret Anne," Maggie says, with a grin, "You know nothing about me. I could be a murderer."

"I don't know what your last name is…but, I know what it could be. One day."

"What is that?" Maggie asks, frowning slightly.

"Mason…" Hal says, coughing as he says it.

"Very funny, Hal Mason. Very funny," She answers, still with a smile.

But Hal's joking grin has almost disappeared; a sincere smile lingers on the surface.

"Hal….you're kidding, right?" Maggie checks, as her own smile fades. "You're seventeen years old."

"Eighteen, in six days," Hal corrects her.

"Wow, eighteen in six days. Congratulations Hal. You're eighteen years old, in six days." Maggie says, with a hint of sarcasm and panic in her voice.

"I don't understand why you're getting all weird." Hal says, frowning slightly, with a more serious expression.

"I don't understand why you're not." Maggie answers back, quickly.

Hal laughs now; his sincere and serious expression disappears, and is replaced by a less-serious and cheeky grin.

"Relax, Maggie. I'm messing with you," He says, grinning wildly. "I just wanted to hear your voice go all high-pitched, and weird."

"Jerk," Maggie says after a minute, with no smile. Then, the smile re-appears. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"What about –" Hal begins.

Maggie says, with a bigger smile, "Have fun, sleeping alone tonight."

"Hey, how's it going?" Dai asks Tector, as he joins him outside the tent that has been set up as a cafeteria.

"Good and you?" Tector answers.

Dai looks over, to the direction in which Tector is looking; Maggie is walking away from Hal, he can't tell if they're smiling, or fighting, or both.

"Good. Are they fighting?" Dai asks, as he swallows from the plastic cup that Tector had held out to him.

"Nope," Tector answers.

Dai raises his eyebrows, slightly, as he says, "That's new."

"Mhm," Tector agrees, as he sips from his own plastic cup. "Give it a day," Tector says, jokingly.

Both he and Dai smile at this.

"Nah, I think they've got it right this time. It's good, that they have each other. Now, they just have to be careful not to mess it up," Dai says, as he finishes off his cup and puts it down.

"Yeah...try telling them that..." Tector answers.

Tector looks up, from his cup, over towards the figure, carrying bags and guns, getting off the med bus. Now, as the moonlight hits his face, Tector recognizes this as the man from the forest.

Tector says, to Dai, who has also noticed the heavily gunned up man, "That's new."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Alice; who posted on chapter 28:I'm sorry that you're getting frustrated! A break through will be coming, and it will be worth all the frustration (I hope) Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad that you liked it.**

**A big thank you to everyone who reads, reviewers, favourites and follows. It means so very much, so thank you all and I hope you're still enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. (I hope that makes sense)**

**Anyway, tell me what you think about this new character addition, Joseph? And of course, the addition of Joseph's good friend Big Bertha.  
Also, I just wanted to clear up, for any confusion, that Reece is NOT dead...yet. Muahaha, I'm joking. Or am I? No, really, he's not dead and I'm not sure if I will make him die in future chapters. You'll have to wait and see. It depends on how the story line goes!**

**I hope you enjoy :)  
Xxx**


	30. You are my sweetest downfall

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

**Chapter thirty:**

"Put your weapons down!" Dai warns Joseph, as he and Tector slowly approach him, both of them are holding a rifle each.

"Come on, lads. I just want a word with my friend. It's all cleared with the Captain," Joseph tells them, as he holds his hands up in the air. The only weapons that he has on him are strapped, or slung, over his shoulders.

"Look….my apologies, lads, but I'm running out of time," Joseph tells them; he steps forward, pulls the gun out of Dai's hands and smashes him in the side of the head with it, temporarily knocking him out.

He does the same for Tector; but he moves faster. Their bodies crumple, unconscious, to the ground. Joseph knows he doesn't have much, if any, time. He discards the rifles on the ground, and walks towards the closet tent. There is no sign of Reece, or anyone in it. Then, he spots Doctor Glass coming out of a tent three rows back. Joseph half walks, half limps, down the dark, empty gaps between tents and waits until Anne is gone before he steps inside it. And just as Joseph had hoped; it is Reece's tent.

But, Joseph isn't alone. The sound of footsteps and a gun cocking behind alerts him to this. But, it doesn't stop him. Joseph moves forward, grabs Reece by the collar and drags him out of the bed so that he's standing, then he moves so he's standing behind Reece, using his body as a shield.

Joseph sees Tom, the Captain, and Hal holding rifles up at him.

"I thought that we'd come to an arrangement?" Tom asks; his eyes fall to Reece, who is sleepy and confused, and they then lift up to Joseph.

"What can I say? I'm an early riser," Joseph answers quickly, with the hint of a smile.

"Drop the weapon-" Weaver begins, but Joseph doesn't want to hear it.

"Not happening, Captain. You're a hard man to find, Reece." Joseph says, as he directs his attention back to Reece, he spins him around so that they are standing face to face.

"It's ok, though. I'm not mad. I'm not mad at all," Joseph mutters, as he lowers his right hand to the pocket in his jacket and pulls out a pocket knife.

"I don't know – I don't – what – I—" Reece tries to speak, but the words come out in a mess. He's nervous, shaking, and he's sick. He can barely stand.

"Drop your weapons, Joseph." Weaver calls out, as he takes a step closer.

Joseph backs away, pulling Reece back with him.

"Another step closer, Cap', and Bertha here might have to teach you some proper manners, ey?" Joseph says, as he gestures to the rifle hanging over his shoulder.

"Let's just stay calm, okay?" Tom suggests.

"Calm?" Joseph asks, with a small smile. "That sounds lovely, Tom Mason. There's nothing I'd want more. How 'bout we all grab some tea – oh wait, that's where I'm wrong. There's something I want more – my-…"

In one swift, and sly, motion, Pope, who was standing on the outside of the tent, right behind where Joseph was standing, breaks through the flaps at the back of the tent, and knocks Joseph out with the back of his gun. He falls down to the ground, unconscious immediately.

Pope looks from a pale, exhausted and frightened Reece, to Weaver and Tom. He nods at them, slides his gun back over his shoulder and says, "You can thank me later."

"How are they?" Hal asks, Maggie, as she exits the med bus.

She'd just come from checking on Tector and Dai, and apart from a killer headache, they're both okay. And whatever Anne gave them seems to have fixed that problem.

"They're up, and walking. Anne says that they should be fine." Maggie answers.

Hal nods, slowly. "Good. That's good. Any idea on how he got out?" He asks.

"Yeah, somehow he managed to grab the candle at the end of his bed. Smashed the glass, and poured the wax on his wrists, until he got out," She answers, with a soft voice.

"Well…I'm just glad that you're ok," Hal says, with a smile that Maggie finds both cute and irresistible.

"I can take care of myself, Hal." Maggie tells him.

"I know. I'm well aware of that. I remember the first time we met," Hal answers, still smiling.

He remembers clearly; he'd tried to overpower her, and she'd kicked his ass. There was no other way to put it.

"It feels like a lifetime ago," Maggie says, softly. Her mood seems to worsen, and her eyes darken, as she remembers _that_ time in her life, the time with Pope, and his gang.

"It was. You're different now; you've changed for the better. So…why don't you let me take care of you, for a bit?" Hal suggests; as he speaks, his face is a mixture of uncertainty and vulnerability.

"Okay," Maggie answers, with a small, unsure smile.

They walk back to Maggie's tent, together, in a silence which isn't awkward or dark. There don't have to be any words at this moment.

"You know…you've changed too Hal, for the better." Maggie tells Hal, as they both take a seat on the edge of her cot.

"Oh really, how is that?" He questions.

Maggie shrugs, "I don't know….most ways. You stood up, when your father was gone. You became a leader, when everyone needed you. You matured; you became braver, almost fearless. So, I guess, in a way, you became stronger than you were before. But, despite these changes…You're still you. You're still the old Hal, the one I-" Maggie stops herself before she says those words out loud.

Maggie's not even sure what the end of the sentence should be: The one I…fell in love with?

Maggie says, quickly, "The one I remember."

"I'll always be the Hal, you remember. I'll always be like that annoying neighbour, the annoying friend; you can never get rid of. You'll get sick of me. You'll be begging me to leave," Hal says, with a small smile.

"Haven't we had this conversation?" Maggie asks, smiling, as she reminisces on the day that they had this conversation.

The meadow was beautiful, everything was peaceful and calm, and it was just the two of them; no pain, no alien invasion and no war.

Maggie's eyes, which had been locked with Hal's beautiful, irresistible hazel eyes, fall down slowly to his lips, they then falter between his eyes and lips. She closes her eyes, slowly, as she moves closer to Hal, pressing her lips gently against his.

There are so many feelings, that Maggie isn't quite sure how to describe, in this kiss. Most of these feelings are good; there's passion, trust, purity. Maggie leans down, back into the cot, and pulls Hal down with her, so he's leaning over her. There is so much passion between them in this moment, but there's something else there, something stronger that Maggie can't find a name for, right now, because she's never experienced that feeling before. For a minute; it feels right. It feels perfect, too good to be true – and it is, because, as always, the darkness comes. And it's so much louder this time, more painful, and Maggie can't avoid it.

"Hal…." Maggie says, as she manages to pull away from Hal for a second to speak his name.

But, she loses her voice when his lips meet hers again. How she managed to pull away from him, Maggie isn't sure. But she can't do _this_ right now. Not when the darkness is taunting her, teasing her, and laughing at her cruelly. Not now, when all that Maggie can see are horrible, painful memories spent with Pope's gang.

"Hal," She says again, with a little more anger, as she pulls herself away again.

"Yeah…?" He asks, as he looks down at her.

Maggie closes her eyes, briefly, and lets out a sigh. "Can you just – I – can…" Maggie stops, as she pushes her hair nervously behind her ears.

"Can you – I need some air, okay?" She says, finally managing to get the words out.

"What – are you okay?" Hal asks, as he obliges and moves so he's sitting on the edge of the cot again.

He watches silently, and somewhat helplessly, as Maggie swings her legs over the side of the cot. She lets out another sigh, as she stares down at her combat boots. Finally, she meets Hal's curious gaze, which is filled with questions.

"I can't do this," She tells him, honestly.

"Can't do what?" Hal asks, frowning.

And then it hits him: she's saying she can't do _this_. Whatever this is between them, Maggie can't deal with it.

"Us?" Hal asks, raising his eyebrows slightly.

Maggie can already see the annoyance, rejection and anger in his eyes as he stands from the cot.

"I don't know what I have to-" Hal begins; his voice is louder and already filled with a lot of anger and rejection.

"No, no – that's not what I meant, Hal." She says, quickly, cutting him off.

"That's not what I meant, at all Hal." She tells him, as she also stands from the cot.

She wants this. She wants what they have. It's just hard for her to want to be with him, considering her past 'relationships'.

"I'm just…." Maggie stops, and lets out a small sigh.

What could she say to Hal, to make him understand how she is feeling about this?

"You're having second thoughts, about us, because Reece is back?" Hal asks, tilting his head sideways as he asks. There is still so much anger, and pain in his eyes and his voice.

Maggie is surprised that _that_ is Hal's first assumption. There's nothing between Maggie and Reece, there never was anything there. The only thing that could be between the two of them is a reminder of who they were, what they went through together, and her boy's eyes. But that's it, there's nothing else.

"No, Hal. I'm not having second thoughts about us, because Reece is back." She answers sharply; her voice and her eyes are unreadable as she speaks.

Maggie lets out a small sigh, as she tells him, "I'm just…I don't want to mess this up."

"You won't," He says, a little relieved that was all.

"You don't know that. I have before. And, I don't exactly have the best track record, if any record, when it comes to…." Maggie begins, but stops when she can't find any words to finish that sentence.

When it comes to what? Relationships? She's never been in one.

She's been with guys, but there was no love there. The only feelings, if there ever were any feelings, were hate, disgust or pain; and usually, right before Maggie met Hal, she felt all of those things not only about the animals that haunt her memories, but about herself.

Secretly, Maggie doubts herself, every second of the day. She doubts whether she is good enough for anyone, especially Hal who is so pure and golden hearted. And she is…she sees herself as the complete opposite. She's definitely not pure. She's not golden hearted. She's…just Maggie. That's all she knows herself to be. That is, until she's with Hal. And sometimes, for a second, she can feel herself changing, becoming someone better. That is, until the darkness reminds her that she isn't _someone better_. The laugh at her for even considering the idea that she could be someone better, she can't be anyone than who she is; the twenty-two year old, with no family, a few friends, and a son who she let go.

"I think….I think that you should leave," Maggie tells Hal, as she crosses her arms over her stomach.

The thought of her past experiences with men has made her feel sick to her stomach, and now she just wants to be alone. Even though being alone is probably the worst possible thing that she could do right now, since when Maggie is alone the darkness moves in closer like wolves to the prey, ready to attack in a moment of weakness. But, she can't see any other option right now. She can't find the words, or a way, to explain to Hal that she's afraid of losing him, of messing this up, and what frightens Maggie the most is the possibility that she could mess Hal up. She could, unknowingly, pass on to him the darkness that swirls through her. To say that the darkness _swirls_ is such a peaceful way to put it, an innocent way. The darkness isn't innocent; it tears at her insides, roaring and ravaging at her until she can't fight if off. And she could never pass that feeling on to someone who means everything to her.

"Maggie…" Hal begins; he scratches just above his eyebrow and takes a step closer to her.

"I just…" Maggie begins; she closes her eyes, lets out a shaky breath, and reopens them.

But, the expression on her face has not changed. She can't find those words for Hal, right now. And she doesn't want to. She's exhausted, and so is he. They just need to sleep.

"Let me stay the night? I'll just stay…" Hal suggests, as if reading her thoughts.

If Hal could, he'd stay with Maggie every night. But, right now, he feels like there is more that he should say; more that Maggie wants to say. But, she looks exhausted, and he just wants to help her feel better, any way he can. And if helping her means not saying any words, then that's what he'll do tonight.

After a second of hesitation, Maggie nods her head, slowly, in agreement.

There will be no words, no questions tonight. They'll fall into the dark abyss, which Hal falls into when he closes his eyes, together tonight.

"How is he?" Tom asks Ben, as he steps inside their small tent.

A small, lit fire in the room is provides enough light that Tom can see Matt sleeping, peacefully, in his cot. He seems so at peace right now. And Tom only wishes that his two other sons could sleep this way, could sleep this peacefully.

"Good. Tired, he spent the whole day with Benjamin," Ben answers, as he watches Tom cross the room and take a seat on the cot across from where he is sitting.

With a soft voice, Tom says, "How are you? I feel like…we haven't had much time to talk, since…"

"Since the aliens took control of me, and I led you all to almost certain death?" Ben asks, finishing Tom's sentence.

"No. That wasn't what I was going to say," Tom answers, quickly.

"I was actually going to say we haven't had much time to talk, since breakfast," He tells Ben, with a small smile on his face.

Tom realizes, now, that he hasn't smiled in a long time. He's been buried with worry, war, pain and stress that he's forgotten to smile. He's forgotten how to take a long breath of air, and to just take a minute to be calm.

"Yeah….well, I didn't have a very productive day." Ben mumbles, softly, so careful to not wake Matt.

"Why is that?" Tom asks, with the beginnings of a frown.

"I tried, Dad. I tried to convince Hal, not to go through with that…operation. But, he wouldn't hear it…" Ben says; his voice has a soft and almost defeated tone to it.

Ben feels like he is slowly losing Hal – and he can't do that. Just the thought of losing either of his brother's or his Dad…it's overwhelming. And Ben isn't going to lose Hal over an operation that _could_ be successful, because there's every chance it couldn't be.

"Hal's always been stubborn, too stubborn for his own good sometimes," Tom answers.

After letting out a sigh, a smile spreads across Tom's tired face.

"I remember…the day you came home from the hospital. Hal was just…he was fascinated with you. We were worried, your mother and I, about how he might react. He reacted….he was so protective of you. Even when you got older…you would've been three, he was six…and, he was going through this phase, where he wouldn't let anyone he didn't know near you."

"I don't remember that," Ben says, with the hint of a smile.

"Yeah, well, you were three. He, uh, he was insanely protective. He'd just repeat, "He's my brother." So proud of you…And then, you both grew up, into teenagers…and started wanting to kill each other." Tom says; with a bigger smile on his face now.

"Yeah…good times," Ben says, also with a much bigger smile on his face.

"Just…give Hal time. He'll see what the right thing to do is." Tom says, in an attempt to reassure Ben that his brother will be okay.

"What if he doesn't, Dad?" Ben asks, with no trace of a smile on his face.

Tom says, with a small, friendly smile, "He will. We know him, and we know he'll do the right thing. He always does."

Although, as Tom speaks the words, he's not sure that they are completely true. Hal always does the right thing; he always has, and always will. But, this is different. Hal is different, now. He's changed. His mind, his thoughts are clouded because of what happened to him. And Tom's not entirely sure that Hal will be able to see through the dark clouds, which follow him, to make the right decision.

Joseph opens his eyes, to a dimly lit room, with his hands and feet tightly tied to the rails of the bed, similar to the kind of restraints that you might find in a hospital for the insane. His eyes dart around the room, until they find something familiar. Doctor Glass; she looks unimpressed, slightly angry, and not very happy to see Joseph.

He doesn't struggle in these restraints, though, because he feels too weak. His wounds are his weakness, and he finds that even if he wanted to, he has no strength to try to break free. Joseph spots an empty needle, on the bench, and realises that the good Doctor has given him something; for the pain, or a sedative…perhaps…he thinks, as he becomes drowsier.

"You're not well. You need to rest." Doctor Glass says, bluntly.

"Come on, love," Joseph says, as a sad smile spreads onto his face, slowly.

The smile remains only for a second, and disappears as his reality comes down onto him. It disappears as the pain, and the darkness returns.

"I'm just…" He begins, but trails off.

After a minute, he continues, and says, "I didn't mean to cause any trouble, darling…"

"Really? Well, that seems to be all that you caused," Anne answers.

Despite what Joseph has done, and tried to do, Anne can't help but feel a small amount of sympathy for this lost, confused and dishevelled man.

Joseph says with a soft, defeated and depressed tone, "I just...They killed him. The critters…they killed my son."

* * *

**A/N: A big thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows or favourites my story. It means so much, so thank you very much. Also a big thanks to my sis, who listens to me ramble about FS and this story. I know I probably don't thank you all enough, and I should - so thank you, very much.**

Dear Guest; who posted as Agus on chapter 29-  
**I'm really happy to hear that you love my story, but I'm not so happy to hear that I make you hate Tector? I'm sorry about that! I love Tector's character, I plan on giving him more of a back story and more scenes, so I'm sorry that I've made you hate him...While I'm a little disappointed to hear that, since it wasn't my intention, I am very happy to hear that you love the Maggie/Hal relationship. And that you think Joseph is interesting. He'll get more interesting, as the chapter's continue. Thank you very much for your review, it's very appreciated.**

Dear Hotchocolate329 -  
**I thought I'd reply to your review, on here, to make it easier for you to see my reply.**  
**Hey, that's absolutely fine :) It's okay, I'm really happy to know that you are still reading it :) Thanks so much, it means so much to hear that you loved it. Ha ha! I like those words! That he can't assume human nature! Very funny :) You didn't spell his name wrong, thanks so much for the review, it means a lot. Studies are going good :) Thanks for reading and reviewing, even with a busy life. Bye :)**

**Dear Guest; who posted as Guest on chapter 29-  
I'm really happy to hear that you like the new character :) I like him too. It's weird, I wasn't even thinking about introducing a new character and it just happened! He will be sticking around, and he'll get more interesting. I'm glad you loved the Tector and Dai scene! Haha! I get your hint :) And more Dai/Tector scenes will be coming up :) I'm really happy that it left you with a bright, happy bubbly feeling :) It's a relief to hear that I didn't make it cheesy! No, you're not supposed to get the clearest picture of what Joseph's intentions are, you'll find out soon though. No, no it did make sense to me! Thank you so much for your review :)**

**Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this one.**

**X**


	31. I loved you first

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"What are you doing out here?" Tom asks Pope, as he approaches the empty space of land that he was headed to, to get some fresh air.

It's almost four in the morning, and Tom had assumed Pope would either be sleeping, or watching over Benjamin. But instead, Pope is outside, drinking what Tom guesses is whiskey.

"Last time I checked, Mason, it was a free world," Pope answers back, sharply. "Oh wait – that's right. We're controlled by fish heads now, I stand corrected," He adds.

"How's Benjamin?" Tom asks Pope.

He answers quickly, and with an unreadable voice, "Fine."

Tom nods, slowly, he lowers his head for a moment as he stares down at his feet, and then lifts his head back up as he takes a step closer towards Pope.

"And yours? How's spike going?" Pope asks.

A small, dry laugh passes Tom's lips. Not at the words that Pope has said, because those words hurt Tom; those are disrespectful, hurtful and rude words. No, Tom laughs because he can't believe that Pope is still Pope.

"You see the funny side to it now, do you?" Pope asks, casting a quick look over Tom.

Tom shakes his head, as he says, "Not in the slightest. You know, Pope….I thought that, with Benjamin back, you might-"

"I might what? Step into the fatherly role that is so rightfully mine? Well, you're wrong there, Mason. It isn't my role. Your boy's right," Pope answers, sharply.

"My boy?" Tom asks, with a frown now painted on his confused and tired face.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Do we not call them _that_ now?" Pope asks, with a slight frown.

Pope lifts his left hand, to the right side of his head and scratches it, before he says, "Razor back, spikes, or porcupine? You might have to educate me, Professor, since you are so very knowledgeable on that topic. "

Now, Tom is reminded of everything he hates about Pope; the rudeness, the fact that he has no consideration for anyone else but himself, and the barbaric traits in him that remind Tom of a wild beast at times. No manners. No consideration. No feelings, at all.

Tom moves forward, quickly, and grabs Pope tightly by the jacket of his coat. "You watch what you say, Pope." Tom says, with such a threatening tone that surprises the both of them.

But, instead of backing down when Mason is clearly aggravated, Pope pushes him.

With the hint of the jack-ass smirk that he used to wear, Pope says, "Or what? You'll set the hounds on me?"

"Yeah, he will." Hal, who is standing a few feet away from Pope and Tom, says.

Tom releases Pope's collar and takes a step back, quickly, like he's been caught doing something wrong. He's setting the wrong example for his sons, Tom thinks. Violence is never the answer.

"What are you doing?" Hal asks Tom, but Pope, who thinks the question, is addressed to him, answers.

"I'm dropping the "father-act", as you so kindly put it. Now, why don't you drop the 'tough' teenage angst act, and take your father back to his tent before someone gets hurt?" Pope suggests, as he fixes up the collar of his shirt where Mason had grabbed him.

"Hal, go back to your tent and sleep," Tom says, as he casts a look over Hal who looks worn.

"I'm not tired." Hal answers back, quickly.

Hal is exhausted, but he can't sleep. Not even tonight, with Maggie by his side. At first, Hal thought that he had been lucky enough to fall asleep – but then, his sleep had pulled him into the darkness, that was surrounding by the hauntings, and the memories, and the pain. And, Hal couldn't keep his eyes closed; he couldn't allow himself to sleep when the reminder was so fresh in his mind; so fresh on his skin where the hooks went in.

"Well, I guess you haven't finished training them…." Pope mumbles, before taking another sip of his whiskey.

Those few words do little to anger Hal, they anger Tom more, but it is Hal who snaps. Not because of Pope's words, because they don't mean anything to him. It's the thought of Pope's son, Benjamin, and how lost and confused he must be feeling – similar to how Ben was feeling when he came back, and in a way, it's what Hal is feeling at the moment.

Hal takes a few steps closer to Pope, surprising both Tom and Pope, as the anger in his body rises, and finally it escapes his lips, Hal says, "I don't know what's wrong with you, Pope. I've got no idea. I've thought about it, and you know…you're not the only one who has been through pain. You're not the only one who has lost someone. And, you're just – you're not capable of being a human-"

Pope scoffs, and says, "Coming from the coat rack-"

"No. No, no," Hal speaks loudly, over Pope, so that only his voice will be heard. "You're not capable of being a decent human being. And you know, that's fine with me, and it's sure as hell fine with everyone in the Second Mass because we don't expect any better from you. We expect this low, rude, ass-hole who only cares about himself. And we get it, we don't care. But, your son expects better, and if you can't give him that – then why are you still here? Because he's the only one who wants you here, but you're already doing a great job on messing that up – so go, Pope. Get out of here, because if we're being honest, no one wants you here, not when you're like this."

"That looks intense. Should we head over?" Tector suggests, to Dai, as he walks towards where Dai is standing.

Despite their recent loss of consciousness, they'd both convinced Weaver that they were fine in doing the morning patrol.

"Nah, Hal can handle it. Besides, Dai thinks he's been knocked out enough, for one day," Dai says, with a small grin on his face, as he turns to face Tector.

"Ok. Let's head out," Tector suggests, with a small smile at Dai speaking in third person.

As Tector turns, to pick up his gun, his eyes fall upon Lourdes, a few feet away, who is in the process of putting the batteries into a flashlight. As she puts the last battery in, the light, which is only small, flares up in front of Tector's eyes. He finds that he cannot move, it's almost like he's frozen. His palms, his forehead and the back of his neck begin to sweat. And for a second, it isn't Lourdes standing in front of him: it's a mech, covered in blood – Boon's blood.

"Still woozy from that bump on the head?" Dai asks, his words ring in Tector's ear but he doesn't seem to hear them, and he doesn't acknowledge them.

"Tector?" Dai calls out his name, again, and this time he hears it.

The blood soaked mech fades from in front of Tector, and Boon's cries also fade away until there is nothing in front of Tector but darkness. Lourdes is gone, the torch has faded away. The blaring lights of the mech have also faded away.

It is only the fourth time that Tector's name passes Dai's lips that he registers that he is talking to him.

"Sorry – what?" Tector says, with a slight frown, as he snaps out of whatever the hell that just was.

He doesn't know what it was. He doesn't know how to explain it, or what he should call it. Was it a memory? A dream? A nightmare – he's awake, so it couldn't be a dream, or a nightmare.

"Still woozy from that bump on the head?" Dai asks, with a small smile on his face.

Tector shakes his head, slowly, "No…I, uh- I didn't sleep…much."

"Let's get going, then?" Dai suggests.

Tector nods, slowly, in agreement, as he pulls his rifle into his hand and holds it firmly. He won't be letting go of it easily, not today.

Tom, who had realised that there was no good outcome from continuing his conversation with Pope, had convinced Hal to leave when he did. The two had walked, mostly in silence, towards the cafeteria. That was until, Anne, who apologised to Hal, had pulled Tom to the side. And, she'd told him about what had happened with Joseph; that his son had been killed, by the aliens.

"Mr Mason- Hal, Hal." Doctor Kadar says, correcting himself, as he looks up at Hal, who has just entered his tent.

He isn't used to sleeping in a tent, without his rats, and is finding it hard to adjust.

"How are you settling in?" Hal asks him.

Roger, who is sitting at a small chair and table, which is covered in an abundance of sheets, readjusts his glasses and stands from the table. He fixes the buttons on his light blue shirt, smooths it down and then turns to Hal.

"I'm Ok. I'm Ok. It's, uh…how should I put it? There's a lot of space, a lot of open room. And, well, for the time being it should do fine. Though, I cannot recommend that the procedure is done in this, er…setting," Roger tells him, as he scratches at the side of his neck.

"Where would you suggest, then?" Hal asks, as he lifts his eyes from the floor to the Doctor.

Roger speaks with a soft voice, as he says, "I'd suggest…a hospital. If there was one in the distance, it would be…the preferred setting."

"There should be a hospital, couple miles out at least. We can scout the area. If I find one, how quickly can you do the, uh, the procedure?" Hal questions.

"As soon as you get the hospital, Mr- Hal," Roger answers. "I, uh…I want to thank you, Hal, for doing this. You could be part of something…revolutionary. You could save hundreds, from the possibility of the process," He adds, as he lifts his gaze to look at Hal.

"Thanks for finding me." Hal answers back, with an unreadable face and unreadable expression.

When Joseph wakes, he is still restrained to the bed; his head aches, his mind is cloudy and he feels a sharp pain in his chest every time that he breathes in and out. He looks down at his chest; which is bare, except for the thick bandage wrapped around his stomach. Now, he realises that the odd feeling that he'd felt on his neck when he'd awoken was a bandage, but he couldn't turn his neck to look because it was too hard to, with the restraints on.

"It's good to see you up. You've been out for a long time," Anne says, as she appears at the end of Joseph's bed.

He takes a moment to answer, a moment to wake, and when he does, he says, "I knew you'd come around. Now, darling, how about we remove these restraints, ey?"

"No deal, Joseph. Not after that stunt you pulled last night. So, how about I just remove three? How's that?" Anne suggests.

"Ok. Sounds fair," Joseph answers, after a second of contemplation.

Anne leans down, loosens and removes the restraints on both of Joseph's leg and his right arm.

"Morning Captain," Joseph says, as he hears footsteps coming into the med bus. And, sure enough, it is Weaver. How Joseph knew that, neither Anne nor Weaver are sure.

When he reads the confused look on both of their faces, Joseph says, with a small smile, "I'm observant."

"I'll give you that, Sergeant." Weaver answers back.

"No, no. Don't call me that." Joseph says, with a tone that is almost threatening.

Weaver asks, "What should I call you then?"

"Joseph...Or, my pals call me Thatch," Joseph says. His eyes falter from the Captain's, to the ground, as those words pass his lips.

Pals. He hasn't seen his pals in a very long time. And, he knows that most of them are dead. He witnessed this. It happened in the first week of the invasion. They lost hundreds….

Joseph pulls himself, momentarily, out of the thick, strong current that is trying to pull him back down into the abyss. He won't go back down there, no, he won't go back into that hole that had, for a while, sucked all of the life, and hope, and happiness out of him and replaced it with a thick, black sludge of pain, anger and hate.

"Are we friends? I don't think so, Joseph. You attacked two of my men, and almost attacked a civilian. I don't think that's what 'pal's' do, Joseph. As soon as you're ready, you can leave," Weaver tells him; his voice is confident, and also dominating, as he speaks.

"My apologies, Captain. My actions are unforgivable. But, you…I miss him. You have to understand what it's like, to not be able to reach someone, and…god, you just miss them like crazy, you know?" Joseph asks, as he lifts his eyes from the floor to Weaver.

"Doctor Glass did inform me. And, I am sorry for your loss, Joseph, but you-"

"My loss?" Joseph speaks over Weaver.

His eyebrows are furrowed; a frown spreads onto his tired features, and his dull eyes, which appear grey in the light, are puzzled.

"What loss?" Joseph asks, again, this time louder.

Anne steps forward, with the beginnings of a frown on her face, she says, "Your son."

"Yes. He's missing." Joseph tells her, as he looks from Anne to Weaver, still with a frown painted on his face.

Anne's frown deepens as she recalls the conversation that she had with Joseph the previous night, where he'd told her that his son was killed by critters.

"You told me, last night, that your son was killed by critters." Anne says, with a soft, calm voice.

"Don't put words in my mouth, love. I said no such thing," Joseph says, speaking quickly, as he sits up in bed, so fast, that his head spins and a shooting pain rises through his stomach, hitting him badly. But, he doesn't let on that he's in pain, because he's felt much worse.

"My boys missing – and your... and your boy, Reece, he's got him. Now, why don't you be a sweetheart, and bring him here, so we can have a little chit-chat, ey?" Joseph suggests; he is speaking much faster now, and with a more aggressive tone.

"Joseph, why don't we just calm down?" Anne suggests.

Joseph shakes his head, as he says, "Come on, sweetheart. You've been good to me – took the bullet out of my chest, stitched me up - don't mess that up by lying. My boy's alive. And I'm going to find him. I don't know where you got the idea from that he was dead but he isn't. I'll find him."

"I'm sorry, Joseph. I haven't slept much – I had one hour this morning. I must have dreamt the whole thing up. Again, I'm so sorry." Anne says, with a friendly smile that relaxes Joseph immediately.

After giving Joseph some more medication for the pain, Anne steps of the bus, followed by Weaver. And after walking a few steps, so that she is out of ear shot from Joseph, Anne stops and says to Weaver, "I've had plenty of sleep, Captain. That conversation did happen, last night."

"Then why did you go along with that, back there?" Weaver questions Anne.

She lets out a small sigh, before speaking, and when she does her voice is soft.

"It isn't uncommon for those who have experienced significant trauma to repress memories, events – both past, and present," Anne tells him. "I'm certainly no expert. But, it could be possibly that Joseph is repressing something that he doesn't want to deal with."

Weaver nods, slowly, as he understands what the Doctor is saying.

"His son was killed, by the aliens – and he's delusional?" Weaver asks.

"I wouldn't say delusional, Captain. I'd say, that he's been through something traumatic that he doesn't know how to deal with, and imagining that his boy is alive – that's how he's coping. I know that you want him gone, Captain. And I understand…"

"Then why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?"

"Joseph isn't in a good place. He could potentially be a threat to himself, or to others. If we let him go, who knows what damage he could do," Anne says, with a soft voice.

She watches, silently, as Weaver lets out a sig. He nods, slowly, "Fine."

Pope, who had stopped drinking not long after Tom and Hal had left, had let his feet lead him through the forest, outside of the camp, until his head was clear and they then led him back to the camp, and back to his tent. As he enters it, slowly and careful not to wake Benjamin, he finds that Benjamin is not sleeping, no, he's in hysterics on the side cot.

His face is pale, and stained tears; his eyes are red, and puffy. He's not wearing a shirt, so Pope can see his little chest heaving in and out. Pope drops the flask to the floor, and drops down to the side of the cot that Benjamin is sitting on.

"Dad…." He begins, but finds that he can't say the words through his loud sobs.

"Slow down…What happened?" Pope asks, as he pushes Benjamin's hair back off his face.

"I-I-I thought you –"

"I'm still here. I'm not leaving." Pope answers back, quickly.

Benjamin shakes his head, slowly, as he lifts his right hand, which is shaking slightly, to his face to wipe away some new, fallen tears. "I heard you – in the truck. And then – then I woke up…and I found these…."

Benjamin stops speaking as he extends his left hand, towards his father; he opens his clenched fist to reveal a handful of screws – spikes.

It takes Pope a moment to register what it is that Benjamin is holding out to him, and when he does the panic sets in. Because, when the spikes were removed on previous children, they died.

Pope scoops Benjamin up, into his arms, and lifts him from the cot. He walks, hurriedly, towards the med bus, and straight past Joseph and all of the other patients, towards Anne at the back of the bus.

"You need to help him." Pope tells Anne, as she turns to face him.

Her eyes flicker down to Benjamin, and then to Pope.

"Put him down there. What's wrong?" Anne asks; the panic clear in her voice, as she follows Pope to the empty bed that she'd pointed to.

"These." Pope says, as he holds out in his hand, which is surprisingly shaky, towards Anne.

"Did you take these out?" Anne asks Pope; he can already hear the anger rising in her voice.

"No. No I wouldn't." Pope answers, sharply.

"Did you?" Anne asks Benjamin; her voice is calmer and there is no anger in it.

Benjamin is silent, as he shakes his head several times.

A small smile spreads on Anne's face, as she says, "It happens, Pope. It isn't rare for children, who aren't harnessed for long. The spikes can fall, that's all that this is. There's nothing to worry about – he's perfect."

Pope lets out a large breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding.

"Thanks." He says, to Anne, as he watches her walk away.

When Anne is gone, Pope kneels down in front of Benjamin, so that he's at his level.

"You heard her, you're fine." Pope tells him.

Benjamin nods, slowly. But, he still doesn't speak. He'd heard everything in the truck; about his father only sticking around until it suited him.

Pope says, softly, "Ben…I, uh…I'm not leaving, okay? I won't leave you."

Benjamin stares at him, still unconvinced.

"Look…I'm just….I'm new to this, alright? But don't give up on me yet. I'll get better," Pope says, as he raises his right hand to the side of his neck and scratches it.

"Ok?"

"Ok." Benjamin answers, speaking finally. His voice is soft, and timid.

"Why don't…you go put a shirt on, then find Matt, kick a ball around? That sound like fun?" Pope suggests, as he stands up.

He looks down at Benjamin, who nods enthusiastically – and the smile, that Pope loves to see, returns.

"Come here," Pope says, softly, as Benjamin stands up.

He bends down, slightly, and smooths Benjamin's hair down before kissing him on the top of his head. "Go on. Get out of here. I'll see you at lunch." He tells him.

"Thanks for coming in Maggie." Anne says, with a soft voice and friendly smile as Maggie takes a seat on one of the empty beds.

"Yeah…well. You caught me." Maggie answers, with the hint of the smile.

Now, as Anne turns around to look in one of the cabinets, she realises that Joseph's bed is empty – and somehow, the restraint on his bed is still intact.

"You're a hard man to find, Reece." Joseph says, with a smile that is almost maddening, as he stops Reece, who was walking out of the cafeteria.

Reece's face turns noticeably paler at the sight of Joseph; bloodied, pale, his hair is wet, like he's run it underneath a tap and pushed it back off his face. His stomach is covered in a thick bandage; covering the bullet wound, and a few tattoos and scars from violent encounters that Joseph finds it best not to think about. His white shirt has been pulled over, in a hurry, and isn't buttoned up. On top of that, Joseph has pulled on a large winter coat, that's pockets are filled with various objects and weapons. His frayed, fingerless gloves are back in its place, on his hands. He limps towards Joseph; his bad leg is playing up on him, probably because of the metal that's in it.

In his left hand, he holds his faithful friend Bertha, in the other he holds his trusty pocket knife.

Joseph says, with a calm voice, "Come on, love, I just want to chat."

"I don't know what you want from me," Reece says, as he takes a step away from Joseph.

"I want Henry." Joseph says; he wants to shout, to scream at Reece – but he doesn't want to attract any unwanted attention to himself, because he knows they'll be looking for him soon.

Joseph grabs Reece by the collar of his shirt, and drags him to the nearest tent, and without any regard for whose tent it is, and if there could be someone in it, Joseph pushes Reece inside first, and then follows.

"You've got two options here, love. You either tell me what I want to know – or, I'll let Bertha do the questioning. And you don't want that – because….she won't stop 'till you're unrecognisable."

"You're mad." Reece says, through gritted teeth.

"Wouldn't you be? If someone stole your son?" Joseph says; he's fighting his inner demons, which are tormenting him, torturing him with painful memories of Henry; his beautiful son Henry.

"Oh, wait…that's right isn't. Henry is your biological son, isn't he? That's why you stole him from me, isn't it? Well, he isn't your son. He's mine. And I'm running out of patience, real quick here boy. So, we can do this the easy way, or the _really_ easy way?"

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the support, it means so much.**

**I hope that you enjoy this one.**

**X**


	32. Beneath the stars

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Look…I didn't take him – you're mad." Reece repeats, for the fifth time, to Joseph.

"So, it's just coincidental that the time you show up, to our little resistance group, my boy goes missing – you're running out of time, boy," Joseph says, with a darker and more violent tone.

"OK. OK." Reece says, as he takes a step back from Joseph, he holds his hands up in the air.

"I tracked you down, before the invasion. I just wanted to see him – but then….they came. But I didn't take him. I swear," Reece says, with the smallest, tiniest amount of sympathy in his voice.

With a glint of madness in his eyes, and a small smile on his face, Josephs says, "That's a real convincing story, love. It's a pity I don't believe you."

Reece says, quickly, "Well….it's a pity you're mad. You think I didn't find that out, when I tracked you down? I hired a detective – he told me everything."

Joseph drops his gaze, momentarily, to the ground as the memories become louder, and the pain becomes stronger.

Reece takes this as his chance to defend himself, from Joseph, and to get the hell out of there. He overpowers Joseph; using his weakness to his advantage, he violently hits Joseph in his stomach with the end of his own gun, Bertha. Then, Reece pushes Joseph to the ground, with such a force that his top teeth tear some skin on his bottom lip. He drops Bertha, steps over Joseph's body, and flees from the tent.

Reece steps out to find five guns on him; Hal, Tom, Weaver, Tector and Dai. He holds his hands up in the air, a reflex, but drops them when he realises that they aren't looking for him. They're after Joseph. They lower their weapons for a brief second, after realising it is only Reece.

They raise them again, however, when Joseph appears through the tent flaps with a bloodied and split lip. Despite the pain that he is feeling in his chest and lower abdomen, Joseph darts forward towards Reece – Dai moves faster than he does, though, and moves so that he's standing in front of Reece.

Dai doesn't particularly like Reece, but he's wary of Joseph and what he is capable of.

"Let's sort this out calmly?" Dai suggests; because he doesn't think that anyone else should be knocked out by this mad man.

Joseph shakes his head, slowly, "I'm sorry 'bout that bump to your head, love. Nothing personal," Joseph tells him, all the while keeping his eyes on Reece.

"I just want him back, that's all. I won't kill you, if you bring him to me," Joseph says to Reece, as he tries to take a step closer to him, but Dai moves as Joseph does and prevents him.

"I have no idea – I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't take your son," Reece says, loudly, as he takes another cautionary step away from Joseph.

Joseph doesn't believe those words, not for a second – Joseph can feel, in his heart, that Henry is alive. And he knows that Reece took him – because the other scenario, that Henry was taken or killed by the critters, is too painful to even consider.

"Joseph, why don't you-" Tom begins, but Joseph speaks over him.

"I want my son!" Joseph says, his voice just below a shout, as he turns his stiff neck towards Tom.

Joseph has had enough of this – enough of them keeping him away from the person who holds the answers to where his boy is. None of these people here seem to understand that his son is missing – his four-year old boy disappeared, out of thin air – days after Reece appeared. It isn't a coincidence. Joseph knew who Reece was, after he'd introduced himself to their resistance group. Before the invasion, Joseph had been curious about Henry's real parents – well, not exactly curious. He loved Henry, dearly, and he wanted to get a little background information on his parents – so that if the day came that his real parents wanted to be a part of Henry's life, Joseph could be prepared. All that he had found out, from the detective he'd hired, was some information on Reece – the father. But, before Joseph could learn the information about Henry's biological mother, the invasion happened.

"I know how you're feeling, Joseph." Tom says, with a soft and calm voice. He's trying to rationally sort this out. "You just need to calm down," Tom adds.

Those last two words – calm down; they set Joseph off.

"There's a four-year old boy – missing. And, and…and you're telling _me_ to calm down?! You're throwing suggestions at me? Why don't you make him talk? Make him tell you, because he knows – I know…" Joseph voice softens, as he lifts his left hand to his chest and rests it gently above his heart. "In my heart that he took my boy. I know, in my heart, that my son is alive."

There is a more desperate tone to Joseph's voice – the madness appears to have left his voice, and his eyes, for now. The darkness has filled his eyes, though. And it's slowly filling Joseph up, killing his insides. And he's not sure how much more of this can take before he puts a bullet through Reece's leg, to make him talk, or a bullet through his head to end it all.

The group surrounding Joseph has grown bigger; Maggie, Ben, Anthony and Pope have joined the group, and the four of them are holding their guns firmly in their hands. They don't have any idea of what the situation is, but they know there is one – they know this because they heard Joseph yelling, on the other side of camp.

Reece casts a quick look over Joseph, before saying, "You're as mad as-"

"Am I?" Joseph asks, taking a large step forward towards Reece.

Dai follows Joseph, as he takes the step, blocking him from Reece.

Joseph releases a small sigh, and says, "Come one, love. We don't want to make it two bumps on your head, do we?"

"I don't want to restrain you, again. But I will if you don't calm yourself down." Weaver says, as he edges towards Joseph.

"He's my boy!" Joseph shouts; the darkness, which is raging inside of him, is slowly fighting its way out – because the light inside, the hope, is dim. It's not strong enough to fight the overpowering, thick darkness much longer.

"He was your son too!" Joseph adds, as he shoves Dai to the side carelessly, and with ease. "So, what happened, love? You took him – is he dead? Because if he is, I'll cut you open and gut you like a fish!"

"What is he talking about, Reece?" Weaver asks, as Joseph's words ring through the air.

He was your son _too_.

"I didn't take him," Reece repeats.

"Stop lying to me! Don't you have a heart, boy? Should I cut you open – have a look inside?" Joseph suggests, as he moves closer to an unmovable and emotionless Reece.

"Henry's my boy, but you're his real father. Enough with this act – it isn't fooling me. You're running out of time, Reece." Joseph tells him; and now he is the one showing no emotion.

Pope is the first person, in the group, apart from Maggie and Reece, to understand what Joseph meant; if Reece is Henry's biological father that means Maggie is his…

Maggie's eyes, which are locked on a spot on the ground, appear darker to Hal, who once the realisation of what Joseph was saying sunk in, turned straight to look at Maggie, and now as he watches her, looking for some or any kind of reaction that she doesn't give, he can see the darkness slowly slipping through the cracks that she can't hold together.

Everyone else in the group, except Tector, Pope and Hal, don't notice Maggie's change in emotion, because they don't know that Maggie and Reece had a son.

"Maggie…." Reece begins, as he edges closer towards her, wanting to explain.

But, she steps away, instinctively, shaking her head slowly as she does. Her pale, and now dull, eyes are unreadable. She steps away from Reece, avoiding eye contact with everyone; she is mainly avoiding eye contact from Hal, Pope and Tector, whom without looking she knows are watching her, intently. And so, Maggie does the only thing that she can think to do; she walks away.

Hal lowers his weapon, as he begins to follow Maggie; Reece also has decided he might try to follow Maggie. But, Hal won't let that happen. Not while he's still breathing.

"Learn your place, Reece. It isn't beside Maggie." Hal whispers, with the hint of a threatening tone, as he casts one look over Reece.

His mind is telling him to stay, to make Reece talk – but, Hal decides that Reece isn't worth his time, so he walks away, after Maggie.

"Reece, go for a walk." Weaver orders him, as he looks back to Reece.

Reece nods quickly; he's willing to take any excuse to get away from Joseph.

"Don't stray out too far," Weaver adds.

"Yes Captain," Reece, who is already putting as much distance between himself and Joseph as he can, calls back.

"Tector, Dai – take Joseph back to the med bus. If he fights, restrain him. Anthony, go get Doctor Glass." Weaver orders; he speaks loudly, as he expects Joseph to object.

But now, as he turns to look at Joseph, there doesn't seem to be much fight left in him. He's staring, with eyes that are almost empty, at the knife in his hand, which he drops into the coat of his jacket before pulling Bertha over the shoulder

"I won't fight, lads." Joseph tells them, as Tector and Dai move to Joseph's side.

"Pope, go with them too." Weaver adds.

Pope nods, "Yes, Captain."

"I need to have a word with Joseph, and it would probably be for the best if Doctor Glass was around – so she can attempt to determine his...mental state. In about five minutes, when it's cooled down – send someone to go have talk with Reece." Weaver says, with a voice just low enough for Tom to hear.

Tom nods, in agreement. "Yes, Captain." He answers.

Tom knows that Joseph has a slight temper, but he doesn't think he's crazy. And, he can't help but feel a small amount of doubt towards Reece, whom he's never trusted all that much.

After checking Maggie's tent, and his own tent, for Maggie, Hal had decided to check out the forest.

He'd walked down through the thick, and uncared for bushes and trees, down over the rocky, damp ground until he'd found her – down by a small, shallow, pool that sparkled as small rays of sunlight, which had slipped through some gaps in the trees, fell onto it. She was sitting on a large, flat rock, staring down at her hands.

"You ok?" Hal asks, as he joins Maggie on the flat rock.

Maggie doesn't appear to hear Hal, he's not entirely sure that she noticed his presence as he sat down next to her. Hal lifts his gloved hands, and rests them on top of her hands. Now, she feels him beside her. Her eyes move, stiffly, down towards his hands.

"I'm fine, Hal." She tells him, as she pulls her hands out of his and stands from the flat rock.

He watches her, silent for a moment, as she pushes her hair behind her ears.

"What?" She asks, catching his stare.

Hal stands from the rock, slowly, and takes a small step towards Maggie. Hal wants Maggie to confide in him, to let him be there for her, but he knows, deep down, that she probably won't let that happen. But, Hal won't give in. He won't let her push him away. It won't work. He'll stay here, and he'll stick by her side, until she's ready.

"You don't seem fine. And you have every right not to be." Hal says, softly.

"You wouldn't – you don't understand, Hal. You don't have to act like you do." Maggie answers sharply, and while those words are intended to push Hal away, they don't.

"Don't do this." Hal tells her, as he moves closer towards her.

Now, her empty eyes meet his gaze. And for a second, she feels lost in the hazel swirl of his beautiful eyes.

But she pulls herself out of the momentary daze, because Hal wouldn't understand. She knows what he is going to say; he'll say she doesn't have to do this alone. That she can let him in, let down her walls. But Hal has no idea how thick her walls are; she's spent years building them up, making them stronger. And, she's not sure anyone will ever be able to break through them entirely. She didn't let Hal in when she opened up about the cancer, the drugs, and her son…she gave Hal a brief glance of what was on the other side of the wall.

Maggie trusts Hal, more than she has every trusted anyone before. But, sometimes trust isn't enough to let someone else in, because sometimes the darkness is stronger than the trust. And the darkness has had years to seep through the cracks in Maggie's wall; it's already inside. She just doesn't acknowledge that it is, because if she pretends it isn't inside for a day, then she won't feel it for a day.

"I know what you're trying to do, Maggie. You're trying to push me away…It isn't going to work." Hal tells her, with the smallest hint of a smile, as he moves closer, towards her.

"No, Hal. I'm not. I want to be alone, because you wouldn't understand," She answers, with a small shake of her head.

"Then help me understand, Maggie. Talk to me." Hal answers back, quickly.

"Hal…." Maggie begins; she lets out a small, shaky sigh and continues, "Just go."

Hal shakes his head, as he tells her, "No."

Maggie knows that Hal is trying to help, he just wants to be supportive, and to be there for her – but she _really_ doesn't want that now. She wants to be alone, for a minute. She just needs a minute to…to not think about anything. And right now, with Hal around, Maggie can only think about how close she came to losing him too.

"You don't get it– I-I…Reece – if it's true, if he did take him – you don't get it, Hal. You wouldn't understand. You want to help, you're trying to – but you can't. Go," She says with a shaky, and slightly angry, voice.

Maggie isn't angry at Hal, though. She's angry at herself, and she's confused because she doesn't know whether Joseph is telling the truth, and if he is there is a possibility that her boy could be dead. If he isn't telling the truth, and he's mad, it's still painful.

When Maggie looks up, from the pool of water that she'd dropped her gaze to, she finds Hal gone. It's what she wanted, right now, though. She had wanted to be alone. She had wanted a moment of peace, a moment of, hopefully, **nothing** – no thoughts, no memories, no pain, and no aliens.

But, we don't always get what we wanted, despite how badly you desire it. And Maggie's desired moment of peace is broken – by Pope. Of course, Maggie thinks, as she reopens her eyes, which she didn't know were closed, to see Pope leaning against a tree, a few feet away.

"What do you want, Pope?" She asks; with a hint of hatred in her voice, that is clear to Pope's ears.

"Believe it or not, Mags, I came to see if-" Pope begins, but he is cut off by Maggie, who isn't falling for this act of Pope's.

She says, as she takes a step closer to Pope, "Came to see what? If I was ok? Well, it's a little late for that."

When Maggie notices a slight change in Pope's expression, she adds, "What? Did you think I'd just get over it? You're wrong, Pope. I'll never forget that you were too much of a pig, and a coward, to do the right thing."

"This isn't about me, Mags, it's about you. And your boy," Pope says, with a surprisingly and unusually calm voice.

"Why did you come here?" She asks, with a low voice. "Did you come to comfort me? To talk to me? To make me feel better? You're wasting both of our time then, Pope, because you're incapable of doing any of those things."

And despite Pope's facade which shows the opposite - those words do hit deep for Pope. Maggie's right, with the exception of Benjamin – but even then, she's not entirely wrong. He isn't as comforting as he could be to his son, he doesn't talk to his boy all that much, and when he does it's about irrelevant things.

Pope can see that Maggie isn't in a good place right now, he knows that she hadn't been in a good place until they'd joined the Second Mass, and even then she was still in the dark, that was until she'd found Hal. And despite the fact that Pope genuinely wants to help Maggie, he doesn't know how to. What he does know is that Hal should be the one to help her, wherever he is.

"You ok?" Tom asks Ben, casually, as the two of them walk side by side, away from the camp, in the same direction that they'd seen Reece go in.

They'd given Reece five minutes to calm down, before setting off in search of him. Tom has many questions for Reece, he's sure that a lot of people do.

"I'm fine, Dad." Ben answers back.

Ben looks up, slowly, at his father, who looks worn and tired. He knows that the stress, the worry and everything else must be getting to his Dad. He's not sure how much longer Tom can hang on before he snaps. Ben knows that Tom is strong, he is the strongest person that he knows, and he admires his father – but he's only human.

And despite all of this; all the stress and worry, the constant chatter and lies about their family, and the many losses that they've faced, the pain that Ben knows his father went through not only on the ship, but watching two of his sons be harnessed and hurt, when catching Ben's gaze Tom smiles. And it's a genuine smile; filled with so much love, kindness, and hope.

"Are you ok?" Ben asks Tom, because he doesn't feel like anyone asks Tom that enough.

"I'm ok. I'm good." Tom says, still with the same smile. "We'll all be good, soon."

Despite everything that has happened to them, and to the world, Tom still has hope. Tom will always have hope – and that is another reason that Ben admires him, because of his resilience in times like this.

"It's so…peaceful out here." Ben comments, as he looks above and around at the trees, with their crispy leaves, and then down at the flowers that are spread out through the forest.

They've just come up, over a small hill, and down further on the flat land in front of them, Tom and Ben see Hal, down by the river, holding Reece by the back of his neck; his face is inches above the water. And then, what happens next sends a cold chill through both of them – Hal shoves Reece's face underneath the water, his body shakes madly as he tries to free himself for air.

Without realisation, Hal's name passes Tom's lips – but he isn't just calling out to his son, he's yelling out to him.

Ben's legs start before his mind registers it and he's already half-way to Hal. Tom has also starting running to, he's screaming out Hal's name again; the veins on Tom's neck are throbbing madly, and his face is slowly turning red – not from anger, but from yelling so loudly.

When Ben reaches Hal, he pulls him backwards, away from Reece. Tom moves to Reece's side, and pulls him out from underneath the water.

Reece, who is disoriented and panicked, gasps and grabs tightly onto Tom's arms – the fear in his eyes fades when he realises that those are not Hal's eyes.

"It's ok. You're ok." Tom says, in the most reassuring and calm voice he can find right now.

His hands shake as he helps Reece to stand; Reece shakes from the coldness of the water, and he stumbles backwards, away from Tom.

"You're a- you're a-" Reece begins, as his eyes dart to Hal, who is already standing from the ground and moving towards Reece.

"Don't." Ben says, as he blocks Hal's path.

"Get out of my way Ben," Hal says sharply, as he tries to push Ben away.

"Go back to camp," Tom tells Reece.

Reece moves cautiously, and quickly, back to camp, almost running so that he can get away from Hal.

When Tom turns back to Hal, they disappointment is clear in Tom's eyes. What Hal cannot see in his father's eyes is the small amount of horror, which is carefully covered, that Tom is feeling – he can't….

"What was that?" Tom says; he's failing at trying to stay calm.

He can't believe what he just witnessed his son doing; his gentle, good-hearted son was…Tom can't think about it. He can't let himself think of_what_ _if_ – what if they didn't show up in time. No, Tom thinks. Hal wouldn't have done that. There is an explanation for this. There has to be. Hal isn't a killer, he isn't violent.

"Explain to me Hal, because I-I don't know what's going on," Tom adds, as he moves closer to his sons.

Ben is watching Hal with the same disappointment as Tom, but the horror in his eyes is clear for all to see. And these looks, in his father and brother's eyes, they crush Hal. They allow some of the darkness to slip back inside.

"I was – I was trying to get him to tell the truth-" Hal says, as he finally lifts his eyes to meet his father's.

Ben cuts over Hal, and says, "By drowning him? How will that get him to speak?"

"Stay out of it," Hal says, almost warning Ben.

"Just…help me understand, Hal, how _that_ would get him to tell the truth? I don't….I'm not…." Tom stops, because he honestly has no idea how he is supposed to finish that.

Tom has no idea what he can to do help his son, to bring the old Hal back – to help him heal. Now, the guilt falls down onto Tom's shoulders. Hal had said he needed time, before he was ready to talk about what they had done to him, and after his confession…about the hooks – just thinking about it makes Tom feel sick to his stomach, it makes him feel like a horrible person because he didn't protect his boy, when he should have.

And now, Hal has…he's changed. He's different, more violent and aggressive. And there's so much more darkness inside of him, where so much light used to shine.

"Hal…." Tom begins; he lets out a small sigh before he says, "If this is because…of what they did to you, you can-"

"No." Hal answers; his face, and his eyes, become filled with an emotion that is hard for Tom to decipher.

Disgust? Hatred? Pain? Perhaps all three. What Tom can see, though, in his eyes is a flash of anger. But the anger isn't towards Tom, it's towards himself, for what he has done – for what he's let them turn him into.

"Because of who?" Ben asks, as he looks between Tom and Hal.

"No." Hal repeats, louder.

"Explain to me then, Hal, what's going on? Because that – _that_ wasn't you." Tom says, with a shaky voice that is the furthest thing from calm.

Tom wants to sort this out, calmly, with Hal – but for some reason, he can't today, not after watching his son almost drown another human being. He wants to break through to Hal, and after much time Tom has realised that trying to stay calm and trying to sort this out at a slow pace isn't working.

"I just wanted him to tell me the truth…" Hal mutters.

"About what, Hal? Tell me the truth, OK? Tell me!" Tom says; he raises his voice louder than he'd intended to.

"He's Maggie's son!" Hal says, almost snapping into madness. He pulls himself out, though, and takes a small breath in.

"Joseph's son – if he's telling the truth, about Reece being the father – then its Maggie's son, okay? And, I-I just wanted to, uh…." Hal stops, as he lowers his head slightly, he runs his tongue over his bottom lip before closing his mouth, and clenching his jaw tightly. "I just wanted to help her, okay? She's hurting. And I wanted to find out if he was telling the truth."

"And is he? Did you get what you wanted?" Tom asks.

Hal's silence gives Tom his answer; no, he didn't. Reece didn't give up anything, because he doesn't have anything.

"Don't." Hal says, to both Tom and Ben, as he takes a step away from them. "Don't look at me like that."

"Tell me, how I'm supposed to look at my seventeen year old son, who just tried to kill someone?" Tom asks; he speaks before what he is saying registers in his mind.

Tom knows that Hal is struggling, with the weight of a heavy conscience about the things that happened while he…with the aliens.

"Not like that." Hal answers back, quickly, and with a darker voice.

He continues to step away, from Tom and Ben. What he can see in their eyes, and on their faces, destroys a small part of Hal. No brother should look at his own brother like that. And, no father should _ever_ look at his own son the way that Hal sees Tom looking at him.

"We need to sort this out," Tom tells him, as he takes a step closer to Hal.

Hal shakes his head, though. He doesn't want to talk. He doesn't want to be around them. He just wants things to go back to the way that they were, before all of this. Before he was harnessed. Before they did...horrible things, which will forever haunt his mind. Before his brother was harnessed, before they took his father on the alien ship. Just before the darkness.

"I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to make him tell the truth…." Hal begins, he stops as the tiniest smile spreads on his face; but it isn't a smile of happiness, it's almost a smile of sadness – a smile of disbelief.

"But, it is always a great feeling when your family has faith in you, that you're not a cold-blooded, crazy killer…so, uh Thank you, both." Hal says, sarcastically, as he continues to back away from them.

Tom calls out to Hal twice, and as he moves forward to follow him, Ben stops him. His eyes are filled with the same helpless, powerless look that is in his own eyes.

"We should give him time," Ben says, softly.

Tom knows he should agree – he knows he should give Hal time; time to heal, time to calm down. But, after all of this time, Tom can see that Hal is still the same confused, hurting boy that he held on the cold floor, after his slight break. He wants to give his son time, but he wonders if time can really fix anything. What if time only makes it worse? What if, in times, the wounds grow deeper, and they become irreparable?

Tom only prays that Hal will, in time, come back to them. That he will find his way through the thick cloud of darkness, and come back into the light.

* * *

**A/N: To the guest reviewer who posted as Guest; on chapter 31:**

**Yes, you got it right! Henry, Joseph's son is Maggie and Reece's boy! I can't promise that what you hoped will all happen in the next chapters, BUT it could happen eventually. I'm saying could because I haven't written that far yet, but I've got ideas - you'll have to read on and see. Thanks so much for the review!**

**A big thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, followers and favourites. Thanks so much. Also, another big thanks to my sister, who listens to me ramble on for hours.**

**I hope you enjoy.**


	33. A pair of dull scissors

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The afternoon sun soon disappeared from the sky, and the night stars and moon had taken its place before Maggie had returned. She hasn't quite sure how'd she found her way back to the campsite; the darkness had clouded her mind, it had clouded her judgement and her thoughts, but somehow her feet had led her back to camp.

She went to Reece's tent, first, to find him alone, with a blanket wrapped around his shivering body.

"Did you do it?" She asks, as she steps through the flaps of the tent and inside.

"Mags…I'm tired." He tells her, as he pulls himself up from the bed and into a seated position.

"Did you do it, Reece? Did you take…him?" Maggie questions; she shows no concern for Reece, and no emotion towards him. She shows no emotion at all, as always. It's better this way, because if you don't show any emotion, you don't let people in – and letting people in always ends bad. It makes you appear vulnerable, weak, pathetic – and that's when the darkness strikes.

"No. I didn't, Maggie." He answers back, with at tired and low voice.

"Because if you did—" Maggie begins to speak, but Reece speaks over her.

"I know. I know. You'll gut me, cut me open. I've heard it before. I didn't take him," Reece answers, as he raises his hands in the air slightly, to stop Maggie from going into a full-blown threatening rant.

He knows very well what she'd do to him. He knows what she's capable of. And, he remembers the darkness inside of her, the darkness that always seemed to blend so well with his own darkness.

"I'm sorry, for all of this…confusing. I know… it must be hard on you. Bringing up all those feeling – but I didn't take him. Joseph is crazy. Ask him yourself, if you want – although he'll probably deny it….I did a little research on him, before the invasion – I was just curious, that's all. And, uh, he's been in the loony house, twice," Reece says, as he lifts his right head to his forehead and scratches it.

"Why did you research him?" Maggie asks, still with cold and emotionless eyes.

Reece shrugs, slightly, as he answers, "Curiosity."

"Yeah, well curiosity killed the cat. Remember that," Maggie says; meaning that Joseph is the curiosity, and Reece is the cat. And Joseph could very well kill Reece - Its Maggie's way of telling him to be careful.

"How are you feeling, Joseph?" Anne asks, as she enters the med bus.

Joseph is sitting on the edge of the med bed, tied to the pole – in the exact way that Anne remembers Tom being tied to it, not too long ago. His black hair is messily pushed back, off his face. His forehead is stained with a little sweat, he'd been resting it on his left arm in an attempt to sleep – but, as Joseph had learned not too long ago, sleep doesn't come easy to those with a heavy conscience. No, it rarely comes at all. And, on the odd occasion that it does occur, your dreams will be filled with all the hauntings you'd hoped to forget.

Weaver had made the right decision in sending Pope to help escort Joseph to the med bus, because Joseph had tried to break free and it'd took the three of them to rid him of his countless weapons and restrain him.

"Is this the good cop, bad cop routine?" Joseph asks, as Anne takes a seat on the bed across from him.

"No, not at all…Do you want me to take a look?" Anne asks, as her eyes fall down to the blood that has seeped through Joseph's white shirt.

Pope had removed his coat – because there were too many weapons in it. Now, it was shoved down the end of the bus, until Weaver had decided what was to happen to Joseph. He was a little reluctant in this decision, because Joseph is, after all, a Sergeant. And despite all of this, Weaver still has respect for him. And, he's curious about his story – where he came from, how he survived this long, and what happened to his boy.

Joseph's silence gives Anne her answer; no, he doesn't want her to look. He doesn't care about himself. He cares about his son, Henry. Henry is the only thing that he cares about.

"Do you want to talk about it, then? About your son?" Anne suggests.

"Oh, I see what this is... Are you going to ask me to lie down on the couch, and talk about my feelings? Well, no thanks, darling. As horrible as that sounds, I think I'll have to refuse." Joseph answers, as he lifts his eyes to meet Anne.

"Why am I chained up, Doctor? I want to leave. You're wasting my time. I need to find him. You have no right to keep me here, against my will," Joseph adds; the anger rises, as his grumpy mood fades and is replaced by an almost angry one.

He's trying to stay pleasant, towards the doctor, because he knows this is not her doing or her fault.

"What? Are you afraid I'll gut him, like a fish? I was teasing, love." Joseph says, with the smallest smile he can muster at the moment.

Anne wants to believe him; to let him go, to take him out of the restraints…but Joseph's track record of breaking free, and wanting to kill Reece persuade her not to.

"You're wasting your time, here, darling," Joseph says, the smile fades and his mood seems to darken. "Watching me, making sure I don't break free – because, mark my words, I will. And I'll find my boy."

"We just want to help." Anne says, softly.

"If by help, you mean release me from these chains, and this pole to which I have been bound to for no apparent reason, and help me to find my son – that would be greatly appreciated, but since I gather from said chains, and your Captain's orders – by help, you wish to deem me 'mentally unstable', then no. Your help is not wanted nor required, Doctor Glass." Joseph says; he speaks in a monotonous voice, and shows no emotion on his face or in his eyes as he speaks.

Joseph isn't sure if he can trust Doctor Glass, and even if he can he's not entirely sure that he should. What he is sure of, though, is that he will get out of these restraints – somehow, and he'll find his son.

Tom wanders the campsite, for god knows how long, in search of Hal. And on his search, he runs into someone whom he wishes that he hadn't: Doctor Kadar. Tom is hurting knowing that is son is hurting, and he is hurting even more knowing that his son is risking his life on a possibility. And, Tom can't help himself but go up to the Doctor – he knows better, he knows he shouldn't – but Hal is his son, and the Doctor should know better than this. Roger shouldn't be allowing his to happen; he should never have put the idea into Hal's head.

"Mr Mason," Roger says, with a small smile, as he looks up and sees Tom walking in his direction.

"Doctor Kadar, I was hoping we could have a word?" Tom asks

"About Mr- my apologies, about Hal?" Roger questions.

"Yes, about Hal. About your theory – the whole operation….I can't let you do that, to my son. I can't let you risk his life over a possibility that could very well result in my son dying," Tom says, he speaks with a calm and soft voice.

If he's going to persuade the Doctor not to do the operation, he'll try to do it as rationally as he can. He'll try to appeal to a softer side of the Doctor.

"All new theories have their casualties." Roger answers back.

Tom is sick of hearing those words; he is aware that new theories have causalities, but he will not let his son be one of them. He won't lose his son, not when he hasn't even gotten him back completely.

"Yes, Roger – I'm well aware of that. But, Hal is my son – and I won't allow him to be a casualty. I haven't, and I won't, give him my blessing, or my permission on this - not that he seems to care whether he needs it or not, but I'm letting you know that I won't let this happen," Tom tells him, he lowers his voice as he says, "And…if I have to physically stop him, or you, from doing the operation – I will. I don't want to, Roger. But if that's what this comes to, I will because….He's my son, and I won't lose him."

Tom looks up, from Roger, to Weaver's tent – the tent that Hal has just stepped out of. He casts a quick look over Tom; his eyes and his face are emotionless and dark, and without saying a word he turns away from Tom, and lets his feet lead him out into the dark of the forest, where, hopefully, he can find some peace.

"Mr Mason-" Roger begins, but Tom, after a quick apology, pulls himself away from Roger.

"What was that about?" Tom asks, as he steps inside Weaver's tent.

He's leaning over a pile of paper's, and a map. It takes him a moment to look up at Tom, and when he does he looks hesitant to speak.

"Dan, what was that about?" Tom asks again, this time he sounds more panicked.

"We're moving out. Tomorrow." Weaver answers, as he walks to one of the shelves and pulls out a bottle of scotch.

After pouring some scotch into two empty glasses, Weaver extends one to Tom and says, "You might need one."

Tom places the untouched glass down on the table, and waits for Weaver to speak.

"There's a hospital. A couple of miles out – we missed it, because we didn't know where to find it. It's further in. I've sent Tector, Dai, Anthony and Pope to scout it. They should be back before morning. If it's safe, we move out. If it's not – we move out, just not to there. We're becoming too complacent here. And complacency gets you killed." Weaver says; he maintains eye-contact with Tom as he speaks.

Tom can see he's avoiding something, and he has a feeling it has to do with Hal. And…then it hits him. The operation – they wouldn't do it in a tent, in the middle of the forest. No, the preferable location for an operation like that would be a hospital.

"No," Tom says, shaking his head in disbelief, as he takes a small step back from the table. "No, Dan. Tell me that this – this move, isn't for Hal." He says, with a shaky voice.

Weaver shakes his head, as he says, "It isn't entirely for Hal, Tom. It's for the Second Mass. I've had a word to Joseph, and he speaks of a resistance – not too far from here. Not Charleston, a much smaller group. I don't know if he's insane. But the hospital would be a good start-"

Tom speaks loudly, as he says, "You don't understand! He is my son! I won't lose him. And- and this…."

"Tom…." Weaver begins, but Tom doesn't want to hear this.

No one understands the helplessness that Tom is feeling; watching his son potentially throw away his life, and no one seems to want to step in and stop Hal.

"No, Dan. Don't say it'll be okay, because there's no certainty. You don't understand! Because Jeanne is tucked up, safe in Charleston. You don't understand, so don't stand there and tell me-" Tom says, almost yelling.

Weaver shakes his head, as he says, "Hal is determined, Tom. I tried to convince him, believe me. I want nothing more than your boys to be safe, and healthy. But he is doing this with or without us. And I think it'd be best for us all if we sup-"

"Supported him?" Tom asks; his face is a mixture of emotions, he looks sick at the idea of supporting Hal in this. "It's a death sentence, Dan. And if he dies – It's my fault. I will never support him on this….. I will fight him, on this, until the end."

"Tom….You know I'm with you, on this…" Weaver begins, speaking with a soft voice.

"Really Dan?" Tom questions, as he moves to the opening of the tent. "Because, where I'm standing, we're on opposite sides." He says, before disappearing from the tent.

"Ben…." Maggie calls out, to Ben, as she spots him leaning against one of the trucks.

He flashes Maggie a quick, small smile, as he pulls himself off it and walks towards her. He can't help but notice how exhausted she looks, and pale. She pushes her hair behind her ears, and stops walking when they're only a few centimeters apart.

"Hi Maggie, what's up?" He asks her, casually, with a small, friendly smile.

"I was wondering if you'd seen Hal…I, uh, I've been looking for him," She tells Ben, her eyes shift from Ben's, to the ground, and then back to Ben's.

Ben hesitates, before answering, "Ah, no I haven't, sorry," He answers, still with a small smile.

"OK. Well, thanks anyway," Maggie says, as she drops her eyes to the floor.

As she turns to walk away, Ben moves with her, and before he knows it the words have slipped out.

"Uh, wait…Maggie. Can we talk?" He questions.

Maggie doesn't hesitate in her answer, despite that she finds this situation a little odd considering her and Ben have never been that close – but, of course she would listen to anything he has to say.

"Sure." Maggie nods, she looks around at some passing civilians and then back to Ben.

"Somewhere….with a little more privacy, maybe?" She suggests.

Ben nods, "Yep. Thanks."

They walk towards the back of the camp; there are a few men stationed down here, keeping watch, but there is no one in ear shot.

"Can you talk to Hal?" Ben asks, almost blurting the words out. When he realises he's not making that much sense, he says, "I mean…can you talk to Hal, about the operation?"

Ben watches as Maggie seems to shift, uncomfortably, while she contemplates her answer.

She'd tried to talk Hal out of it, but somehow he'd convinced her it would be for the best.

"You know…." Maggie begins, as she raises her right hand to her forehead, she leaves it there as she closes her eyes and lets out a small sigh. "I've talked to him, Ben. I've tried…he won't listen."

"He might listen to you, if you tried again…. He won't listen to us, Maggie, and uh…I don't know how much more my Dad can take, before he snaps. And Hal doing this – this would probably push him over the edge," Ben says, with a soft voice.

Maggie nods, as she drops her eyes down to her combat boots. It takes her a moment to speak, and when she does her voice is softer, "I've tried…Ben."

"Yeah, I know. You said that. He's my brother, Maggie. And I don't want to lose him. He just…I don't think my Dad, or Matt, could handle losing Hal this way," He tells her, still with the soft voice, but there is more desperate tone to it, a more pleading one.

"OK." Maggie answers, quickly.

She understands what Ben is saying, all too well. Hal means so very much to all of them, and none of them could stand to lose him. She remembers how she felt, with Robbie….

"I'll talk to him," Maggie tells Ben, as she pulls herself out of the memories.

She can't let herself think about those now, she won't allow herself to think of Robbie right now, because those thoughts, piled on top of everything else that is happening, might cause Maggie to break, to crumble, and she's not entirely sure that if she did crumble she'd have the strength, or will, to pick up the pieces.

"Thanks," Ben says, as his smile returns.

Maggie can see clearly in his eyes that he didn't expect her to say yes. And that her agreeing to this means so much more to him then he'll admit, or she'll ever know.

The sun has begun to rise in the morning sky, when Maggie finds Hal; after her conversation with Ben, she'd wanted to go find Hal immediately, and look for him…but, Tector had caught her – literally, he wouldn't let her go anywhere but to her tent, to sleep, because he'd told her bluntly that she didn't look well, and she didn't to rest.

He'd stayed with her, for most of the night – he was stubborn, just like Maggie, and he hadn't given up until he'd eventually given into his sleepiness, and that was when Maggie had snuck out.

"Hi," Maggie speaks with a low, soft voice as she walks down towards where Hal is sitting, on a fallen tree log.

The bright, orange, morning sun is slipping through holes and cracks in the trees, and falling down softly on the crisp leaves of the forest.

Hal jumps up from the log, at the sight of Maggie. She hadn't frightened him, he'd just thought that it was someone – no, something else…

Maggie gives him a small, but warm smile that numbs his pain, momentarily.

"Hi," Hal says, but with no smile.

She walks towards him, slowly, and stops when she is a few feet away; she watches him, silently, for a second. He looks tired; like he hasn't slept at all. He probably hasn't.

"You've been out here a while," Maggie comments.

Hal nods, slowly, and then the smile appears, "Are you stalking me?" He asks.

Now, Maggie's smile widens. "No. I'm just…making sure my partner picks up his feet."

"Whatever you say, Margaret-son…Whatever you say," He teases, now with a grin on his face.

Still with a smile on her face, Maggie says, "No matter how many times you say Margaret-son, Son will never be my last name."

"Whatever you say," Hal repeats, still with a small smile.

As Hal looks down at Maggie, who is illuminated in the orange light, he can feel himself slowly becoming lost inside her light, inside her purity, her heart of gold. And, the idea of becoming lost in Maggie's light, or being lost with Maggie in it, it doesn't sound so bad to Hal because at least they'd be lost together.

Hal lowers his right hand, gently, to Maggie's cheek and softly rests it there. When Hal closes his eyes, he can almost see the meadow – the purple flowers, the orange-red, almost golden, rays of the afternoon sky mixed with purple clouds – a place filled with peace, and no pain. And only light – there is no darkness there.

"Hal…." Maggie begins; letting out small nervous sigh.

He reopens his eyes as she closes her own eyes, briefly.

The rays of the warm morning sun light up Maggie's skin. It's a refreshing feeling. She needs…time. Time to convince Hal not to do this, because he is too important to her, and to his family. She needs time to find an in-between, between the darkness and the light. Because, Maggie knows that she doesn't belong, entirely, in the light – but she doesn't belong in the darkness either. Perhaps it's somewhere in-between the two. And she's desperately searching for that place. Maybe, it's beside Hal.

But, Maggie can see Hal's place – it's in the light. There's never been a doubt about that. Hal is a brave, fearless, compassionate, kind, pure soul. And right now, Maggie doesn't see her place in the light next to Hal. She desperately wants to see it, to feel that she could belong next to him.

"Don't do it," She says; opening her eyes to find Hal watching her, intently, with those damn hazel eyes.

"What?" Hal questions, with the beginnings of a frown forming on his smooth features.

Maggie hesitates, before answering – she knows that Hal doesn't want to hear this, but she has to make him this time. She has to make him understand how truly important he is, to everyone. And that he can't do this, because so many people love him – and _that_ makes Maggie hesitate longer. Did she just categorize herself as someone who loves Hal Mason? No, Maggie thinks. What she meant to say was that there are so many people who care about Hal. Not love, no. She's not sure what this is between them, there never has and probably never will be a name for them.

"The operation…" Maggie begins, but stops as she sees Hal's expression change.

He drops his hand from her face the second the word comes from her mouth, and he takes a small step back from her. "Maggie…" He says, beginning to protest.

"No, Hal. Will you just…listen, okay? Just listen to me: I'm asking you not to do this, as your partner I'm telling you that it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do," She tells him, with as calm of a voice that she can find right now.

"I guess I'm just incredibly stupid," Hal says, with a small shrug of his shoulders.

"No, you're not, Hal. I don't want…." Maggie stops; she bites down on her bottom lip, and then scratches at the side of her head before pushing her hair behind her ear – all nervous ticks. "I don't want to lose you," She admits, in a moment of vulnerability.

I don't want to lose you – an understatement. She _won't_ lose him. She _can't_ lose him. Even the thought of losing Hal, of not being able to see him every day….It frightens her; more than she'd care to admit.

"You won't," Hal answers back, quickly, like he's so sure that he'll be fine.

But he isn't. This operation could go two ways; it could be a success, or it could fail – and there's a high chance it could fail. Hal doesn't seem to realise that. He seems to only see the positive side to this – a possibility to stop the process. There may not even be a process.

"What do you know? You're not a doctor. You're not a scientist. You have no idea about this. You don't know anything. You could die – and I won't lose you, Hal," She says, as she takes a step closer to Hal. Despite the anger rising in Maggie's voice as she speaks, she isn't angry. She's more frightened than anything.

She is, however, a little irritated with Hal that he doesn't seem to entirely understand the gravity of the situation.

"I'm doing this, Maggie. I have to," Hal answers back, sharply.

"And that's all I get? No explanation as to why this is so important, that you're risking your life?" Maggie questions; her eyes seem to flicker with darkness, and pain.

"That's all you gave me." Hal speaks before the words register in his mind.

And, it's too late – he can't take the words back. He knows that it must be incredibly difficult for Maggie to talk about her son, and about Reece, and know he's gone and thrown that in her face.

Hal can't tell Maggie, or Tom or Ben, that he has to do this operation, not only to save his brother and countless others from the possibility of the process – but, because of the promises he'd made, silently, to his mother to protect his family – and he hasn't done a very good job on that so far. Ben had been harnessed, Tom had been taken on a ship by aliens – and Hal had bruised and frightened Matt. So, he'd done the opposite of what he'd hoped to do. He hadn't protected them as well as he could have, and this could be a new start; the operation could help Ben, and protect him. And Hal can't lose his brother, he won't, and he won't let his father lose a son, or let Matt lose a brother.

Hal's last reason, that he wouldn't dare share with Maggie or Tom, and certainly not Ben, about wanting the operation – the spikes in his back are a painful reminder of what they did to him. The countless hours of pain he'd endured – the threats, the pain, the blood…the spikes remind him of them, and what he did. It is, also, a way for Hal to somehow attempt to…make up for the lives he took. If he could stop the process, he could save hundreds of lives. And while that idea should make Hal feel better, it doesn't, because the empty faces will still haunt him. Hal hopes that by doing this, he could make the hauntings go away.

"Maggie….I'm sorry," He tells her, as he pulls himself out of his own, dark thoughts.

He's sorry for any pain he has caused her; for any pain that he cannot heal. He's sorry for not letting her in, and for not trying hard enough to break through her walls. He's sorry for everything.

"We should….head back to camp," She answers.

They walk back to camp in silence. A silence that he wants to break; but he can't find any words.

They return to camp to find everyone packing up; Dai comes up to them, immediately, and says, "Maggie, Ed - Better start packing. We're moving on out."

* * *

**A/N:  
Thank you to everyone who reads, reviews, follows or favourites this. It means so very much, thank you. I hope you're still enjoying it.**

**Also, a big thanks to my sister, who lets me ramble on hours about this. And doesn't complain. Thank you!**

**Also, Dear Guest Reviewer who posted as Dana, on Chapter 32:  
They will work through it together, I'll tell you that much! Thanks so much, it means a lot to hear that. Yes :) I hinted at Hal's birthday coming up, in a few days, because (spoiler alert) I'm planning to incorporate his birthday into the story, it'll be in one of the next chapters. Thank you so much for reading, and reviewing.**

**Thanks & I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	34. And the yellow light

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

It doesn't take the Second Mass very long to pack up; they seem to move faster when told that they will be moving on, to a hospital – beds, the possibility of warm water, shelter from the rain or the cold winds that, on some nights, seep through the tents and spread right through you.

As Maggie carts bags, and supplies, to the back of one of the trucks, Anne spots her and begins heading in her direction. Maggie lets out a small sigh, and begins to walk faster towards the truck, so she can load it up and get away, hopefully before Anne catches her.

But, Anne is too quick. And Maggie is a little slow today; she'd woken with a small fever, and a headache. But she'd pushed it off as a cold, from being out in the rain. That's what she was telling herself, because right now she's not sure she could take the possibility of Hal dying, the possibility of the cancer being back, and the possibility of her son – she just can't take all of that right now, and so she's pushed out the possibility of the cancer. There would be more signs, more symptoms if it was cancer – that's what she is telling herself anyway.

"Hi Maggie, how are you feeling?" Anne asks; her voice is filled with the same friendliness as her eyes are, but they are also filled with a deep worry.

She isn't worrying just about Maggie, but about Tom, and Hal, and Ben, and the entire Second Mass, and even, a little, about Joseph. She can't help but feel sympathy for Joseph, who is hurting – and all that he seems to want is closure, or some answers. And he isn't getting either. No, instead, he's restrained and under watch, until Weaver can figure out what they should do with him. They can't leave him behind; Anne won't let them, because he could be a danger to himself, and to others.

"I'm fine, Anne." Maggie answers.

Anne isn't surprised to hear those words, Maggie says them enough. And despite the constant use of the words, Anne never falls for them.

"That's good," Anne replies, with a smile. "There are MRI's at the hospital, Maggie. When they scouted the hospital – Tector, Pope and Dai checked all the rooms until they found one – it was Pope's idea, actually," She adds.

Anne watches Maggie for some, or any kind of reaction, but she doesn't give one. She nods, slowly, as her eyes falter from the ground, back up to Anne's own eyes.

"If we can get the power going – we can…we can find out, for sure, if the cancer is back. Either way, we will be able to get you started on the appropriate treatment."

"Anne, there is no way I could get _that_ treatment," Maggie answers back.

Anne says, with a reassuring smile, "Don't give up so easily, Maggie. There is always a way."

Maggie hesitates before speaking. She doesn't want to talk about this right now; she doesn't have the energy or will to talk about a 'way'. And so, Maggie does the only thing she can think to do of to get out of this situation – she lies. She pretends that she believes that there could be a way, and she pretends to believe Anne's word.

She manages to slip away, and pack the rest of the truck up in silence. Sometimes, silence is the best thing. Sometimes, the silence can answer so many of your questions without speaking. It can give you a sense of calm –a feeling of momentary peace.

But, most of the time silence is not the best thing, not when it's shadowed with darkness. This is the kind of silence that floats between Maggie and Hal, in the truck, on the way to the hospital. They'd made small talk, when they had first gotten into the truck. But, now, there was only silence and darkness. And Maggie hates _this_ kind of silence. This silence drives her mad, insane. It torments her, it laughs at her because there never used to be _this_ kind of silence between the two of them.

"Hal…." Maggie begins, breaking the silence because time on this world is precious, and moments like this are moments wasted.

And not a moment should be wasted in this world; because one second could be your last, or someone else's last – and you could be filled with a lifetime of regrets. A lifetime of what could have been, what should have been – and what wasn't. And, that is enough to drive a person right into the open arms, or claws, of the darkness and never look back.

"Can we talk about this, like adults?" She suggests.

"OK." Hal nods, in agreement, after a moment of silent contemplation.

They can talk about it, but she won't change his mind. No one can, or will change his mind on this. This is something that he has to do, because if he doesn't he'll be living the rest of his life – however short or long, thinking what if he had done it. It could have saved hundreds of lives.

"But…" Hal adds, as he casts a quick look at Maggie and then back at the road. "Only if you try to understand this from my side."

"It's just…Ben is my little brother, Maggie. And, my first instinct is to protect my family, to protect him. And, I don't think anything will change that. I'll always protect them – and if that means putting them, before me, I'll do it. I have to do this. Just…" Hal stops, and lets out a small sigh, before continuing. "Can you try to see it, from this side? If Robbie was harnessed-"

"No." Maggie says; her voice is shaky, and almost unsteady, as she stops him.

Of course, she would do that for Robbie in a heartbeat. But, she can't hear about him. It brings her too much pain – and she can't deal with that right now. She can't talk about Robbie, or listen to someone else talk about Robbie right now.

She speaks with a soft, low voice as she says, "You have good intentions, Hal. But-"

"There's nothing that you could say, Maggie." Hal replies, quickly, cutting Maggie off.

And, just like that, the silence comes back between them, accompanied back by the darkness. Maggie feels like a fool to think that, for a second, it could have left and that they could have made it out of this, together. She feels foolish to think she could have convinced Hal not to do this, but she can't – he's stubborn.

His intentions are good; they're pure. He means well, he just wants to protect his family. That's who Hal is; it is in his blood to be a protector of his family. And, this is his way of protecting them. She can see that, clearly. What Hal can't see, though, is that if he dies he can't protect his family any longer. If the operation fails, and he dies, he won't be able to protect his family. He'll be gone. And it can happen like that, life is so fragile, it can shatter in a second.

Life is like an hourglass – fragile; with tiny grains of sand, which are representative of everyone in the world. And these tiny grains of sand sparkle, before they slip through the small hole – and they're gone. Just like that. In the blink of an eye, the grains are gone. And there's nothing that you can do to bring them back. There isn't a thing you can do to slow it down, or to stop the grain from falling. All that you can do is live – don't waste a second, or a moment, because they're too precious.

And Maggie doesn't want to waste a second, or any moments, with Hal and lately, it feels like they've wasted a lot of moments. She isn't quite sure how to get them back, to that place they were in before – when they were in the meadow.

Now, in the truck, as she closes her eyes she can picture the meadow; lit up by the orange rays of the afternoon sun, all of the beautiful flowers; and the thick grass that they would lay in, for hours. And soon, the afternoon sun would disappear, and the moon would arrive, with all of the beautiful stars – and even at night, when they would be surrounded by darkness, they wouldn't be scared. Because, it wouldn't be the bad kind of darkness in this place. It would be the darkness that allows you to sleep; it gives you peace, shelter. And in the morning light, when Maggie would wake, she'd be reminded of every reason she fell, irrevocably, for Hal; his purity, his light, his honesty, his smile, those damn hazel eyes, his laugh – everything about him. They would lie in the meadow, with each other, for hours. There would be no pain here, no darkness, and no hauntings – just life.

But, no place like that exists. It doesn't matter how badly Maggie wants it to, it doesn't exist right now. It could, after they remove the aliens. If they've both made it through all of this mess, and pain, there could be a place like that.

As the truck pulls to a stop, outside of the hospital, Maggie's eyes open instantaneously. An odd feeling overcomes Maggie, as she stares out at the hospital from her seat in the truck. As a small fear sweeps over Maggie, consuming her as it does, she finds it incredibly hard to step down from the truck. Her mind is telling her not to get out – to stay in the security and safety of the truck, and to stay away from the hospital. She closes the car door, slowly, as her eyes move from the hospital, to Hal who is watching her.

He looks like he is about to speak; to say something, or anything, but he doesn't. He lowers his head, slightly, and turns away from Maggie, walking towards the back of the truck to begin carrying in supplies. She decides that she will join Hal, in carrying stuff inside – perhaps, with a task Maggie won't feel like _this_ inside the hospital. Maybe, she'll forget that it's a hospital.

However, as her eyes fall down onto Joseph, who is being escorted by Tector and Dai off of the med bus, she forgets any plans at carrying supplies inside. No, she wants to have a word with Joseph. Maggie walks quickly, towards Joseph. Tector spots her, a few feet away, and moves so that he's standing in front of Joseph, it's almost like he's standing in front of him so that Maggie won't hurt him.

"One minute?" Maggie asks, looking from Tector to Joseph.

Joseph looks tired, like he hasn't slept in a long time. His wrists are red, and a little bloodied, from his failed attempts at freedom from the restraints.

"How can I help you, Just-Maggie?" Joseph questions, as he pulls away from Dai and Joseph and takes a step towards Maggie.

"Are you crazy?" She questions.

After a moment of silent contemplation, and with the beginnings of a smile, Joseph answers, "Well. That would depend, entirely, on who you speak to darling."

"I'm asking you, Joseph - Are you lying, about…about your son, Henry, and about Reece being his real father?" Maggie questions; she's trying her best to stay calm, so that she can find the truth in this situation.

Joseph's grey eyes carefully observe Maggie, before he says, softly, "I'm not a liar, love. Sure, some might deem me as crazy, or not very friendly – but I am not a liar. And I am not crazy. May I ask – why is it of any concern to you, Maggie? Don't tell me – you and Reece? You could do considerably greater, than him, love."

Joseph watches as Maggie takes in a deep, shaky breath. She closes her eyes, as she admits, "He's my son."

A deep frown forms on Joseph's face, as he takes a second, closer look at Maggie. She doesn't look anywhere near old enough to be Reece's mother.

"No, not Reece – he isn't my son," Maggie corrects herself, as she opens her eyes. They meet Joseph's, for a brief second, before she lets them fall down to her combat boots. "Henry."

"Oh…love…" Joseph begins, but he isn't quite sure how he should finish that sentence.

Should he add an apology, for letting her find out like this, at the end of the sentence?

"If you're telling the truth, that is." Maggie says, as she finally lifts her eyes.

Joseph sees a glint of madness, and darkness, in her eyes as she says, "If you're lying…"

"Time to go," Tector says, cutting in, as he and Dai also catch the same glimpse in Maggie's eyes, as Joseph had.

As Tector and Dai pull Joseph away, towards a hospital room which will be under guard, Joseph turns back to look at Maggie – one last time, before he enters the hospital doors. He wants to say something, anything, to her. But what could he say to her? Should he tell her how strange it is that the three of them came together, over his son?

So, instead of talking to Maggie, Joseph talks to Tector and Dai – whom he'd come to know on the bus. Well, Dai hadn't said much. Tector had said little. "I want to talk to the Captain," He tells them.

"And he wants to talk to you." Dai replies, as they push him inside a room.

As they close the door, Joseph's words haunt Dai and Tector, "If my boy's dead, or if he's out there, dying as we speak – and you keep me in here for another god damn night – you should be ready to add two more deaths to your conscience."

"I should – I should go," Anne says, regretfully, as she looks up at Tom.

His arms stay around her, tightly, holding her close. And her arms stay around him. She doesn't want to leave him, if she could she'd stay with him forever – but her patients need her, she has a lot to do.

"I know." Tom mutters, as he keeps he lifts his head gently, from hers, and kisses her on the forehead. "I wish you didn't have to, though."

"I'll see you tonight," Anne says, with a smile, as she presses her lips against Tom's.

Tom watches Anne, with a small smile, as she pulls away from him. The two begin walking towards the hospital, side-by-side, when Anne says, "If you see Maggie, can you tell her where to find me?"

Tom nods, "I'm guessing she's with Hal. I'll keep an eye out for her."

"Thank you," Anne smiles, gratefully, as she presses her lips against Tom's again.

And as she does, she could stay here, with him, like this, forever. But, right now they don't have that option. Maybe in the future, they could have that option.

And with a smile that still makes Anne re-fall in love with Tom, every time she sees it, Tom says, "See you tonight."

The night seems to come fast to the Second Mass, and most are grateful for it – it's the chance to sleep, peacefully, for once in beds, with clean sheets. They'd gotten the power working, and with their last experience at the previous hospital – they are running as little as was needed. Lights aren't allowed on in the bedrooms; candles are to be used. There were some lights on in the hallways, and in the cafeteria. They weren't sure how long they'd be here for, and so they wanted to save as much power as they could.

For Maggie, she'd wished that night could have come later – because, with the night comes the darkness. And, eventually she'll have to sleep – and she can't bring herself to enter any of the rooms. So, instead, she'd kept her head down, and tried to forget that she was in the hospital as she made her way up to the roof, for air. Also, she was looking for Hal up here. He'd disappeared after they'd gotten here – he probably hadn't disappeared, he was probably just avoiding Maggie, she thinks. And she doesn't blame him – she doesn't understand, entirely, why he is so set on the operation. And a lack of understanding has, momentarily, made things difficult between them.

As Maggie steps out onto the roof, the coolness of the night soothes her skin, and she closes her eyes as she takes in a deep breath of air. She reopens her eyes to find Tom, on the roof.

"Oh, I'm sorry – I didn't realise-" Maggie begins, but Tom stops her.

"It's okay," He tells her, with a friendly smile. "Peaceful out here, isn't it?" He adds.

Maggie nods, slowly, as she walks towards where Tom is standing. "Yeah, it is. That's why I love it out here. It's like….there's nothing else going on."

Tom nods, in agreement. That's exactly what he'd felt when he'd come up here. Originally, he'd come up here in search of Maggie, but then he'd forgotten about that, and he'd let the night star filled sky calm him, momentarily.

"I was looking for you, earlier. Anne was…" Tom tells Maggie, he stops there because he knows Maggie will understand what Anne wants to see her about.

"I bet…that you're sick of people saying that they understand your fear or you reluctance to find out?" Tom questions, as he lowers his head slightly, his eyes fall down to the dirt, they then lift back to Maggie's.

She nods, slowly. "Yeah…" She answers, as she scratches at the side of her head.

"I'm not going to say I understand, because I don't, not in the slightest. And neither does Hal, or Anne. But, Maggie, without fear we wouldn't grow stronger. We wouldn't be able to differentiate from what we fear and what we don't. And, I know…this is the last place that you want to be – I can relate to you on that level. I would rather be anywhere else than here. But, sometimes we don't get a say in life, even though it's our own life. Sometimes we're just… helpless bystanders. Other times, we're not. And this is one of those times, Maggie. Think of this as an opportunity, to grow stronger," Tom tells her; he speaks with a soft, warm, friendly voice that _painfully_ reminds Maggie of her father.

"What if it's the opposite, Tom?" She asks, with an unsteady voice. "What if…the cancer's back? And, instead of growing stronger, I grow weaker."

"That's impossible." Tom says, with a small smile; he sound so sure of himself as he speaks. "You have Hal, and you have me, Anne – and the rest of the Second Mass. You can't grow weak with all of us supporting you. It's impossible."

Maggie nods, slowly, as she takes a small second to compose herself – to calm herself from the overwhelming emotions and feelings – and the darkness.

"I think…I think I lost him, Tom. I think that I've lost Hal." Maggie admits to Tom, as she finally admits it to herself.

Before, after Hal was harnessed, there were moments between them when she didn't recognise him entirely – they were just brief seconds. But those seconds were enough to make Maggie doubt herself, doubt whatever it is they have between them, and make her feel disconnected from him. And, just when she feels like they might be headed back down the right path, when they're connecting again – Hal pulls away, only slowly, and it was small – but it's still enough for the feelings of disconnection and panic to reappear.

Hal means everything to Maggie; she's never admitted it to anyone, not even herself, before. She never thought that she'd meet anyone like Hal, let alone be with anyone like Hal. And she found him, she fell for him, and she can't lose him now. Not when she hasn't gotten him back, entirely.

Maggie says, with a shaky voice, "I meant… the operation. What if…"

"What if's don't matter." Tom tells her.

But, Maggie finds that hard to believe – what if's have the power to drive someone crazy, they have the power to eat away at your insides until you're vulnerable enough for the darkness to slip right through, almost unnoticed, and fill the many holes that cannot be filled, repaired or forgotten.

"What if…we could have stopped him? What if I could have said something? What if we're running out of time?" Maggie asks, as those daunting questions of what if enter her head.

Tom shakes his head, slowly, as he tells her, "All that we can do is keep trying, Maggie, right down to the very last second. I know that you won't give up on him, or yourself. You're a fighter – we all are. And, I'm not going to stop trying until Hal is on the table, and even then – I won't…."

Both can see, from the others words and their emotions, how deeply that they both care about Hal, and how they will both fight to keep him on this earth, and with them, for as long as they can.

"Hal!" Ben calls out, to Hal, as he spots him down by one of the trucks.

Hal turns back to Hal, sets down the bag on the back of the truck, and takes two steps towards Ben. He casts a quick look over his brother before speaking, and when he does his voice is calm and casual.

"What's up?" Hal asks Ben.

"I was…They've got the kitchen set up, I thought you might be hungry." Ben suggests.

"I'm not." Hal replies, quickly.

Hal's lost his appetite - he's never been that hungry lately. He isn't sure if it's because of the harness, that he's lost his appetite…because Ben gained an appetite, after he was harnessed. No, Hal thinks it could be due to the fact that he feels repulsed, and wants to be physically sick, whenever he sees a flash of silver – a knife, fork or spoon.

"Having trouble sleeping?" Ben questions, after casting a quick look over his older brother.

He looks tired, like he hasn't slept for days. And Ben knows the truth – it's very, very likely that Hal hasn't slept for days.

"Nope," Hal answers, lying.

The truth is – he can't sleep, for longer than an hour – most nights.

"OK." Ben nods, slowly, and with the smallest smile on his face.

"OK." Hal repeats, he begins to turn away, to continuing unloading the truck but stops as Hal speaks.

"Hal, can we -…." He stops, and lets out a small sigh. "Don't do it," Ben says to him; speaking with a soft, and calm voice.

"Drop it, Ben." Hal tells him, after he also lets out a sigh.

"No. I can't. I won't – If you go through with this, I'm leaving. I'll leave tonight – because, I'm not sticking around to…." Ben stops. He can't finish that sentence, he can't think of what could happen.

Hal is silent, for longer than Ben had expected him to be. Ben believes that Hal may actually be considering not doing the operation, and he is. He's considering not doing it, so that he can keep his brother. But…he fears where the path will lead the two of them, and the other harnessed and de-harnessed children.

"OK. So, leave." Hal answers; he surprises Ben with his answer. "I…I'm doing this for you. And if you can't see that – if you can't accept that, then leave. Go on. But, I'll just come looking for you – and Dad and I, we'll find you and bring you back."

Hal holds Ben's eye contact as the calm expression fades from both of their faces, but Ben is the one to speak first, and when he does his voice is filled with such anger, and a hint of pain.

"You're doing it for yourself." Ben tells him.

With a slight frown, Hal says, "What?"

"You're doing the operation for yourself. That's what this is about." Ben replies; he tries to stay calm, but the anger in his voice breaks through.

Hal stares at Ben, with a look of disbelief, as Ben continues.

"You don't want to be a freak – like me, like all the other harnessed and de-harnessed kids." Ben adds.

And that sentence angers Hal, more than he thought was possible. He takes in a deep breath of air in an attempt to calm himself before speaking, but it's pointless because the anger in Hal's voice as he speaks is so clear.

"Why can't you get it, through that thick head of yours, that I'm doing this because you're my brother?!" He says; taking in another small breath, before continuing. "I want you to live a long and happy life. Not the life of a-"

"Freak? The life of a freak?" Ben says, as he cuts over Hal.

"Quit it with the 'freak' stuff, OK?" Hal says; he raises his voice as he inches closer to Ben. He lets out a small sigh and continues, "Because you're not one, you-"

"I am, Hal. I have always been…Before, I was the geek at school – now I'm the geek, with the spikes – but you wouldn't understand that, at all, would you? You don't know what it's like to be different, to be cast out – until now. And you hate it. You hate it _so_ much that you're risking your life so you won't be a freak." Ben replies; he speaks fast, and with a voice that is far from calm.

Hal stares at Ben, still with the look of disbelief in his eyes. But, there's something else beside it now that Ben can't quite figure out….pain? anger? Now, Ben understands it, as it spreads onto Hal's face; sadness. But, Hal quickly covers the sadness with anger.

"You think you've got me all figured out, don't you Ben?" Hal asks, as he tilts his head sideways. And that sad smile reappears on Hal's face – the smile of disbelief.

He drops his head, almost in shame, and still with the smile on his face as he raises his right hand, to the back of his neck where it rests for a moment.

"I spent the first two years of high school – being covered in food, teased in class, or having my head flushed in toilets…I-I…some days, if I was lucky, they'd shove me inside a locker and leave me there – and that's all they'd do. And, and you know that summer that I went to Pop's, because he wanted to go on a fishing trip – that wasn't true.…They broke my nose, and my right arm – when I tried to fight…back…" Hal stops, momentarily, because despite the years the pain is still fresh in his mind. And for some reason, he feels embarrassed to share these moments with Ben.

"I didn't….." Ben begins, but he's not sure what to say so he stops.

What should he say? I didn't know? I didn't mean what I said?

"You didn't know? Of course you didn't know, Ben! You were my little brother. I didn't want you to see me like that. So, Dad never said anything – and, and you know, since we're on the topic of high school bullies – Marcus, that guy a year above you who was picking on you – did you really think he just moved schools, out of the blue? He moved because I tried to talk to him, and then I hit him because he called you a geek – and his friends…they beat me to a pulp. I spent the weekend at a 'friends'. I was in the hospital for two nights, Ben. So, you know – call me a dumb, 'popular' jock, but don't – don't, for a second, think that I'm doing this operation for myself, Ben. It's for you." Hal replies, with a voice that is a mixture of calm, and also pain.

When he's finished speaking, his eyes fall down to the dirt beneath them – and he just stares at it, silently for a minute. It's almost like he can't believe he's told his brother this. He's never talked about this to anyone. He had to talk to Tom, after it happened – but he hadn't told him this much.

And in this moment, filled with vulnerability, pain and sadness – Hal knows, immediately, that he should go – because, there is someone he belongs with, someone he belongs to, and he needs to find them – to fix this.

"Hal…." Ben begins, as Hal begins to walk away.

Ben follows him, as he takes a few steps; Hal raises his hands in the air, and steps away from Ben.

"We don't talk about this, ever again." Hal says, almost warning him.

And that's all he says, because he doesn't – he can't find the words to say anything else to Ben. Maybe in the morning, perhaps, but not right now, Hal knows where he has to be right now.

**_"She'll be OK. I promise." Jacob says, as he takes a few steps towards his wife, Elizabeth._**

**_She pushes her long, blonde hair behind her ears and lets out a nervous, shaky sigh. "You don't know that, Jacob. We don't know that. We could lose her." Elizabeth answers._**

**_Jacob moves a few steps towards Elizabeth, his gentle hands fall from her shoulders down to her hands, and he takes them, gently, in his as he tells her, "I promise, I won't let anything happen to her."_**

**_Elizabeth nods, finally. Jacob moves his hands, to her face, and after pushing a fallen strand from it he pulls her into his arms; a warm embrace and they hold each other, silently, for a moment._**

**_The embrace is broken as Jacob opens his eyes, and they fall down to the sixteen year old girl, watching them from the corner of the room. He watches her for a moment, before pulling away from Elizabeth, when she catches his gaze the two of them walk over to her._**

**_"Did you hear all of that?" Jacob asks her._**

**_She nods, but stays silent. She's afraid how weak, and how shaky, her voice may sound if she speaks._**

**_"I won't let anything happen to you, Maggie, I promise. Wherever I am, I'll always keep you safe."_**

"Maggie?" A voice, which does not belong to her father of mother, breaks through Maggie's memory.

Her eyes open quickly as her hand falls instinctively to the knife in the pocket of her jacket.

"It's me." Hal tells her, with a caring, soft voice, as his hand drops to her hand, which is already inside the pocket of her jacket.

For a second, Maggie watches Hal like a stranger. Then, she realises, what she had seen – was a memory. It wasn't real. It couldn't be. Her mother, and her father, weren't coming back to her. Neither was Robbie, or her son. And the sooner that she'd understand that, and accept that – the less painful it would be. Well, that was what she was telling herself anyway. So far, it didn't seem to working.

"What…" Maggie begins, but stops to clear her throat.

"What are you doing here?" She asks him, as she casts a quick look over him.

"I heard about the…the MRI…." Hal tells her.

"OK." Maggie nods; she pulls her hand out of his but maintains eye contact with Hal.

He looks tired – exhausted, like he hasn't slept properly in weeks.

And despite that he looks exhausted; he gives Maggie a small, reassuring smile as he tells her, "We're partners. I'll always be here."

* * *

**A/N: Dear Guest reviewer who posted as Guest; on chapter 33:**

**Wow! Thank you so much for saying that, that really means so much. Sorry for the late-ish update, I'm writing more chapters as I post this so I could post again tomorrow. Thanks so much for reading!**

**I also wanted to say a very big thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this, it means a lot so thank you, very much. Thanks to my sis, who listens to me talk about it for hours and never complains.**

**P.s sorry for any grammatical errors, I wrote most of this really late, or after a lot of study.**

**I hope you enjoy**


	35. Kissed me till the morning light

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal watches, silently, as Maggie pulls all the metal objects out of her clothes – because they're not allowed in the room with the MRI. She pulls out not one, but three pocket-knives. Hal says nothing as she places them on the floor, outside of the room. Next, she pulls out a small chain, which she purposely hides from Hal; she drops it to the floor, along with a metal ring. Then, Maggie pulls off her black leather jacket, and covers the pile of her metal belongings with it.

She stares down at the pile, silently, for a minute – not moving, and not speaking. Her hand, which was had fallen to her side, finds Hal's hand and she intertwines her fingers with his. He is the first to move; he opens the door and leads Maggie inside. And as he does, Maggie can see a glimpse of what Tom meant – about it being impossible to become weaker with Hal, and the Second Mass. With Hal, right now, Maggie feels strong, not weak. He's strengthening her; helping her.

Maggie finds Anne, alone, in the room. The MRI is set up, and ready for Maggie – but, Maggie's not entirely sure she'll ever be ready for it. At this moment, when Maggie's fears come rushing back, she feels Hal squeeze her hand, tighter – a reassuring grip, that does, surprisingly reassure Maggie. That is, until, Maggie's eyes fall down to the hospital gown in Anne's hands.

And instead of moving, or speaking, Maggie stares at the gown like it's something that she's never seen before.

So, Hal speaks for her, he says, "Does she have to…wear that?"

Anne nods, "Yes. The procedure should only go for thirty minutes, at the least. You'll need to remove any metal objects from the-"

"I've done that." Maggie answers, lifting her gaze from the gown.

She pulls her hand out of Hal's, and takes a few steps forward until she's in front of Anne, she reluctantly takes the gown in her hands.

"We'll go wait – in here." Anne tells Maggie, as she begins walking towards the room in which they'll watch Maggie from, when she's in the MRI.

Hal keeps his eyes on Maggie; he shoots her a reassuring look, before he turns completely, and follows Anne into the room, a few feet away. Hal closes the door behind him, and he and Anne turn away from the window – giving Maggie the privacy to change into the gown.

"Hal…" Anne begins; she decides now, with Hal alone, she might try to talk to him about his operation.

"I know what you're going to say, Anne. And, I mean this with no disrespect when I say that there's nothing you could say to make me change my mind," Hal replies, he turns to look at her as he speaks, his voice is calm and soft, there is no anger in it.

Hal's tired of fighting his family, and Maggie, on this – and he won't fight another person. Hal doesn't want to fight anyone on this, anymore. He wants them to understand that he has to do this, not only for himself but for his brother, and all the other children out there – de-harnessed or harnessed. Because, in the future, if they are to ever rid the aliens from earth, Hal fears what will happen to the de-harnessed, and harnessed, children. Will they be considered part of the problem? Will they be removed, from this earth, with the aliens?

Hal won't let them hurt his brother because he promised his mother he'd protected his brother's, and his father. And he'll do that until the day that he dies, and Hal doesn't plan for that to happen anytime soon.

"What if the tumours are back?" Anne questions, after a moment of silent contemplation.

It's a very real possibility. Anne had thought about it – and while there were other ways, other methods of determining if the brain cancer was back, she'd decided that this way was the quickest way, because they don't have the time. And this way, they will gain a conclusive answer on whether Maggie's cancer has returned.

"It's a very serious possibility, Hal. What if Maggie's cancer has returned, will you go through with the operation?" Anne asks.

She stops, and lets out a small sigh a strand of fallen hair behind her ear. She turns, so she's facing Hal, and she takes a small step towards him. Anne genuinely cares for Hal, as she cares for his brothers, and for Maggie – and she doesn't want anything to happen to any of them.

Anne continues, with a soft voice she says, "Maggie will need you, more than ever before, you know that right? And by doing this procedure, you're risking-"

"I know what I'm risking, Anne." Hal says; he speaks over Anne, but not with an aggression voice, still with a calm one, but it also has a cold tone to it. "Believe me. I know what I'm risking….and, if Maggie's…if it's back – I won't go through with it, until she's better."

"What if she doesn't get better?" Anne asks.

Hal hesitates before he answers, he knows very well what they'll do if the cancer returns, and she doesn't get better. They'll go up to the mountains, just the two of them, and he'll spend every last-minute of her life beside her, making it better, easier, happier – making it less painful. And then, Hal's not sure what he'll do – he's not sure if he'll return, or if he'll stay with her, until it is the end for both of them. Whether his end will come naturally, or not…Hal isn't sure if or how he could return after _that_.

But, that's not important at the moment – what is important is the possibility that Maggie could be cancer free, that she could have an infection, which could be managed and treated.

Their conversation is interrupted by Maggie, who pushes open the door to the room and steps through with a face that is, to Anne, unreadable. But, it isn't to Hal. He knows her, too well. He can see her fear, her panic, her pain and her sadness.

Maggie almost doesn't recognise her shaky, unsteady, soft voice as her own as she says, "Let's get this over with."

Anne nods as she says, "OK. I've just got to check with you, Maggie – you don't have any metal implants?"

"No." Maggie answers.

"And you're definitely not pregnant?" Anne questions.

"Maggie…" Hal begins; his face suddenly becoming more serious than before. "I thought we were keeping that between us?" He adds, as he turns to face her.

A grin spreads on his face, as a small smile falls on her features. "Shut up, Hal. No, I'm not." She answers.

Maggie lets out a small, deep breath as she lies down, flat on the table that is part of the MRI scanner. She closes her eyes, briefly, as the memories of when she was sixteen years old, come flashing back – but she stops them, as she re-opens her eyes. She can't do this – she can't think of those memories, while she's doing this. It's all too painful. It's too much.

Her breathing becomes noticeably heavier, and faster. Hal, who was standing a few feet away, walks towards Maggie's bedside, he drops his hand, slowly, to her elbow; it runs down her arm, gently, until reaching her hand, where he rests it, on top of hers.

"So, Maggie, I'm just going to strap you in – so that you lie still. Are you okay with that?" Anne asks, as she reappears by Maggie's side.

"Yeah…." She answers, with a croaky voice. "That's fine." She adds.

Hal takes a step back, to allow Anne to strap Maggie in, he keeps his eyes on Maggie the entire time, and she keeps her eyes on him.

Next, after Maggie's consent, Anne injects a contrast material, through an intravenous line in Maggie's hand – the dye will allow certain areas to be viewed more clearly. Then, Anne wraps a coil around Maggie's head – it will help to show a better picture.

"How are you feeling, Maggie? Talk to me?" Anne asks, from the other room; she speaks from the intercom.

"OK." Maggie answers.

Hal and Anne are inside the next room, watching Maggie now – she's all alone inside of the MRI, again.

Hal's voice comes over the intercom, as he says, "Would you like fries with that shake?"

He smiles as, down at the monitor in which he can see a smile fall on Maggie's face.

"Don't freak out. I'm right here." He tells her. "We're right here." Hal corrects himself, as he looks sideways at Anne.

"Just close your eyes," Hal tells Maggie, after her smile fades.

She does as he says and closes her eyes, slowly. "Now what?" She asks.

"Now, imagine the mountains." Hal replies, with a soft, calm voice that soothes Maggie. "Hollow caves, the coolness of them against your skin; and the orange sun setting…purple fields."

The two of them can, as Hal speaks, imagine this place up in the mountains. It'd be so peaceful, so calm, and so quiet. And while they both desire that place, together, so badly – neither want it, right now. Because, both know that their reason for going to the mountains, right now, would be if Maggie was dying. And neither wants that.

Maybe – if the day comes that the aliens are gone, and somehow normal life resumes, the two of them can time in the cool, hollow caves, and the illuminated purple fields of lavender.

Before Maggie knows it, the MRI is done. She hears Anne's word, over the intercom, telling her that it is over. But, she says nothing more than that. Maggie's fears, and panic, and pain, comes rushing back as the tables moves out of the MRI.

Hal enters the room, first, and removes Maggie of the straps, and then Anne appears and pulls of the coil.

Maggie pulls herself, up, into a seated position; she allows her feet to dangle of the bed, and she stays seated because if the news is bad, if the cancer is back, she's not sure she'll be able to stand up too long.

Finally, Anne appears by Hal's side.

"You're all clear, Maggie. There are no tumours," Anne tells her, as a smile breaks out on her face around the same time it appears on Hal's.

Maggie looks, in disbelief, from Hal to Anne.

"Really?" She asks; her voice is shaky, and low again. "Oh…." She mutters, unsure of how or what to say.

So, instead of saying anything, Maggie stands from the bed and wraps her arms around Hal's neck, tightly. He lowers his arms to her back and pulls her in, as close as he can. He knew she'd be okay, she had to be. There was no way he'd let them take them from her.

And, the moment that Anne had told him that Maggie was safe – it was one of the happiest moments in Hal's life.

Maggie pulls away from Hal, with hands that are trembling slightly, she pushes the hair off of her face and smiles at Anne, who steps forward and embraces her, in the same way she had in Charleston, when Maggie had broken down in front of her.

"Thank you," Maggie whispers, into Anne's ear.

Anne pulls away from Maggie, with a bigger smile on her face.

"I'll need to diagnose you, to determine that it is, in fact, cellulitis. Then, I'll get you started on the correct treatment." Anne tells her; a little more seriously know, because an infection is never a good thing.

"OK. I'll just…I'll get changed." Maggie answers, with a nod.

Anne tells Maggie, with a soft voice, "We'll wait outside."

After quickly getting changed, and refilling her pockets and combat boots with her belongings, Maggie had followed Anne to a room across the hall. Hal had watching, silently, as Anne had pulled away the small, thin, dry bandage covering Maggie's right shoulder, and arm just below it – Maggie had purposely avoided Hal's gaze when the bandage was gone. There were no welts, or obvious signs of infection on the skin. Anne had determined the extent of the infection - not bad. There were no signs that it had spread. It was what had been causing Maggie to have fevers, and headaches. But, with a cold compress – an ice pack, and penicillin, she should recover quickly, and the fevers should stop coming.

"Thank you…" Maggie says, finally, as she and Hal step out of the empty room.

Anne had left, one minute earlier – Hal guesses she'd left to find Tom, to tell him of the good news.

"For what?" Hal asks, with a cute, puzzled smile on his face.

"Being there…today." She says, as she stops walking and turns to face Hal.

"It's what partners do." He answers, still with the cute smile on his face.

"Mhm," She replies, as she watches Hal for a moment. Her eyes stay locked with his.

"Hi, Hal – my apologies, but could I have a word?" Doctor Kadar asks, as he breaks their conversation. "Oh, again, my apologies – how rude of me…" He adds, as he turns to Maggie. "My name is Doctor Roger Kadar."

"Maggie." She answers, as she looks slowly from Hal to the doctor.

She shakes his outstretched hand, with a small smile on her face – he returns the smile, and then turns to look to Hal.

"How is tomorrow, for you?" Roger questions.

The confusion on Hal's face fades as he realises what the Doctor is asking. He's asking if tomorrow is okay for the operation.

"For the operation, I mean." Roger says, to clear up any confusion.

Hal clears his throat, before he says, "Yeah…Tomorrow's good."

He looks at Maggie as he speaks; he's watching her for some, any kind of reaction. And he gets one. The smile on her face falters for a moment, before it disappears completely.

"Good. When I'm ready, I'll come for you?" Doctor Kadar suggests.

Hal nods, slowly. "Yeah…" He answers.

"Ok. Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. And, it was a pleasure to see you again, Hal." Roger says, as he pushes his glasses, which had slipped slightly, back into place. He gives them both a friendly smile before stepping away, and returning to his room.

"Maggie…." Hal begins, as he moves closer to her. He lowers his head, and his voice, as he keeps his eyes on her.

She looks up at him, meeting his gaze, but she stays silent.

"Just…say something. Say something." He says, with a voice that is almost pleading her to speak.

"What…" Maggie stops, to clear her throat – she coughs twice, and then continues, "What can I say, Hal? I'm out of options. I'm just…I need some air. I can't be in – _this_. And I can' think about _that_."

"Come with me," Hal tells her, as he takes a step away from her.

He waits for her to join him, but she doesn't move.

"Please, Maggie." He says, with a soft voice.

Maggie, reluctantly, follows Hal – she walks a few steps behind him, and when he looks back at her she tries to avoid his gaze. She thought – she was crazy for thinking that he might change his mind on having the operation. But he hasn't. And their moment of bliss was shattered by the reminder of Hal's operation.

He leads her up three sets of stairs; to a level of the hospital which appears almost entirely empty. On the third level – there is no light. Hal pulls out the torch that Maggie didn't know he had in his pocket, and lights up the hallways.

"Hal- what-" Maggie begins to protest.

Hal knows what she'd say; what are we doing up here? What if there are skitters?

Hal says, with a reassuring voice, "They re-checked the entire hospital before letting anyone inside, Maggie. It's safe. Trust me."

They walk towards the end of this level, and just when Maggie thinks he might be leading her up another set of stairs, to the roof, he leads her right, towards a small hallway with three doors. Hal walks towards the last door, and turns the handle to the room.

As he opens the doorway, Hal steps to the side and waits for Maggie to enter first.

She watches him, cautiously, as she takes the first few steps into the room. She finds that this isn't a hospital room – no, it appears to have been something like a room for staff to relax – Maggie gathers that from the couches she can see in the corner of the room.

"There are no lights, on this level. So…these will have to do." Hal tells Maggie, as she hears him close the door.

He moves forward, to where he remembers setting down candles earlier that day. He pulls out a box of matches, and uses one to light a candle. He then puts the box of matches back into his jacket pocket, and lights the rest of the candles using the flame from the lit candle in his hand.

Maggie sees, now, as the candles begin to light the room – that there is an old, broken television on a small wooden table in the corner of the room. Her eyes flicker over the room – she sees, in the further end of the room, there are two mattresses, from hospital beds, set out on the floor. A thick blanket covers both of the mattresses, which are pushed together. On top of them are several pillows.

"What is this?" Maggie asks Hal, who has finished lighting the candles.

"I thought…instead of sleeping in a hospital room, or outside – I thought this would be OK. Is it OK?" He asks, as he finally re-joins Maggie, who hasn't move since entering the room.

"What if we don't make it through this?" Maggie asks Hal, as she finally lifts her eyes to meet his.

Hal shakes his head, slowly, as he answers, "You're in the clear, Maggie-"

"Not me, Hal. We –what if we don't?" She asks; finally asking the question that has been on both of their minds since Hal came home.

With almost no doubt, Hal replies, "We will, we always do."

"That's my point." She says; after letting out a breath of air she continues, "How many more chances do you think we've got left?"

"We'll…considering our luck, lately – fate owes us a few favours…I think," He answers; he keeps his hazel eyes locked on hers as he speaks.

Maggie shoots Hal a look – which he reads, easily. She's not convinced by his words. Trusting that fate will throw them another favour isn't enough for Maggie to believe.

Hal lets out a deeper sigh of his own as he raises his hands to his head; he runs them over his head, and then down to his neck, he rests them there as he tilts his head to the side, slightly.

"We'll be fine." He tells her, although as the words come out they aren't as confident and reassuring as it sounded in his head.

Maggie shakes her head, slowly, as she asks, "What if it isn't, Hal? Haven't you thought about that?"

"It's all that I've thought about, Maggie. And…if we only have tonight – I don't want to spend it like this…." He admits, as he drops his hands to his side.

Maggie nods, very slowly. She's angry with herself that she's turned Hal's sweet gesture into another mess. But, that's what she does best, Maggie thinks. She creates messes, and she can never clean them up alone. She can't do this alone.

The words escape her lips before her mind registers what she is saying, and she almost regrets them. "What if you bleed out on the table tomorrow – and…and there's nothing they can do?"

"What do you want me to say? That I'm scared? Because I am, Maggie. I am scared. But I have to do this! I have to – I have to save Ben, and myself. I have to stop – what they did…." Hal stops himself, before speaking any further.

He closes his eyes, and lets out a deep breath. He regrets letting those last three words pass his lips. He doesn't want to spend what could possibly be their last night together like _this_.

"What who did, Hal?" Maggie asks, catching Hal's last line.

What they did? She assumes that he's talking about the skitters putting the harness on his back. But, the flash that appeared in his eyes as he spokes tells Maggie otherwise.

"Nothing…." Hal answers, as he reopens his eyes.

But, for some reason – he wants to tell Maggie. He can't stop thinking what if he dies – he doesn't want to leave any of this between them. If he were to die tomorrow, he doesn't want to leave any of these secrets, or this darkness, between them. He wants to open himself up to her. But, it's so very, very hard and painful. The memories are haunting, and the darkness is tormenting.

"I just….I can't tell you that, Maggie." He tells her, as he drops his head slightly.

Hal turns away from Maggie, and begins walking towards the mattress – he just wants to lie with her, and say no words, because sometimes words are too painful to be said. Sometimes, just being together is enough.

"I was scared, Hal." Maggie admits, as Hal turns his back on her.

He pauses, and slowly turns back to look at her, but he doesn't speak.

"I was scared that I'd lost you. I was so scared, and uh….somehow, we found you. We got you back – and….until now, it doesn't feel like I've gotten you back. Not completely. I just want to know…was it something that I did…"

"No," Hal says; he speaks over Maggie, with a voice that is almost shaky, as he watches her walk towards him. "It was nothing that you did. Not you."

"Then talk to me, Hal. Don't keep me locked out like this. I…I only want to be there, for you. I just – that's all I want." She tells him, as she takes another step closer to Hal.

Instinctively, Hal steps away.

He clears his throat, before he says, "I know, Maggie. You want to help me, but I'd rather…"

"I'm not giving up." She tells him. "I won't run."

"You will." Hal tells her, with a small, sad smile. "You'd run, so far, if you knew..."

"Whatever it is, I will stay here." She replies, quickly.

She didn't have to think about her answer for as second. She will _always_ be here for Hal.

Hal lowers his eyes as he looks down, to his hands, which have fallen to his side. He looks up, slowly, to Maggie. His face; a mixture of pain, anger, and darkness – something Maggie recognises all too well.

"I….I've just…I've got so much blood on my hands, Maggie." He admits to her; his eyes, which appear to glisten, stare down at his hands like he can see the blood as he speaks.

He won't look up at Maggie, he can't. He can't look her in the eyes, right now, and let her see what he sees; the faces, the hauntings and the darkness that he can't erase from his mind. And the blood – oh, the blood is everywhere.

"And…no matter how hard I scrub at them…and how hard I try – I can't. I can't get rid of it. It won't go away…" He speaks with a soft, defeated and desperate voice.

And when he finally lifts his eyes, to look into Maggie's – he sees no fear, hatred or anger in her eyes. No, there is only understanding, and light, and comfort in her eyes.

Slowly, Maggie takes Hal's left hand with her right, and then his left with her right hand – and she holds them, softly but tightly.

And Hal just stares down at her hands, like he's imagining his blood on her hands.

And just as he is about to pull away, Maggie says, "Whatever you've done – it doesn't change you. You're a good, honest person with such a pure heart. And nothing – not the harness, not the spikes…and not the blood – nothing changes that, Hal. And nothing ever will."

"But it already has!" He tells her; after taking in a painful breath.

Now, he pulls his hands away from hers – he can't let the blood touch her purity. He won't let it. He won't bring her into this mess.

Hal shakes his head, repeatedly, as he tells her, "I just-I can't….I let them change me, Maggie…."

"No, no you didn't." Maggie insists, as she moves closer to Hal.

She doesn't drop her eyes from his as she tells him, "Hold onto who you are, inside. Hold onto the things that you love – your family. Hold on tight, and don't let go – because, those things can save you. Hold onto them, and they can never _truly_ change you."

"They already have! I-I….my harness…Karen – she made me... I've done so many horrible things, Maggie. I can't let you-" He begins, but stops to take in a breath of air.

His breathing is heavier now; his chest heaves in and out – he's panicking, slightly, at the hauntings.

And, she speaks to him, through the hauntings. Her voice is soft, understanding and gentle as she says, "Talk to me."

"I can't." Hal replies, quickly.

He can't talk to her. He can't tell her. He can't lose her. He can't forget.

"Let me help you, OK? Let me help you heal?" Maggie suggests.

And despite Hal's avoidance of her eyes, Maggie keeps them focused on Hal. She won't let him fall further into the darkness, into the abyss. She won't let him go down that hole.

"No…." Hal says, still shaking his head, and still avoiding her eyes.

"Well then, Hal - why don't we….heal together?" She asks him.

These words – they make him feel something. What exactly, he isn't sure. But it's something – and he wants to help Maggie heal, more than anything. Maybe, together they'll have a chance at this – at saving themselves from the darkness, from the hauntings – maybe, if they're lucky, they'll have a chance to put an end to all of this pain.

His breathing sharpens, and his chest continues to heave, as Hal prepares himself – he's trying to find the words to speak, to tell Maggie what he's done…and what _they_ did to him.

"They, uh….they put the harness on…" Hal tells Maggie, and as he speaks he can see it happening – he can feel it happening all over again.

His face is filled with repulsion, anger, and pain as he continues. "And….she must have done something…different. I don't-I don't know…They, ah- wanted to know, about the rebel skitters. And about Ben – and I wouldn't say anything….so, Karen – these fish hooks….my chest."

A small, quiet gasp passes Maggie's lips as she breathes in sharply. He doesn't have to finish that sentence for Maggie to understand what Hal is saying. She had no idea that he'd been…tortured - by Karen. She lifts her eyes to Hal, who is watching her – waiting for her to run. But she'll never run, she will never leave him.

"The mech….she made it kill these kids….they couldn't have been older than ten. And, they did it so slowly – god, it almost took a whole day. And….And, I snapped, Maggie. I-I-I couldn't…I…my hands, around his neck…." Hal says, stopping as he takes in a deeper, painful breath of air that does nothing to calm him down.

"He was in so much pain, I just….He wouldn't stop crying, Maggie. They wouldn't stop crying out in pain – and I wanted to end the pain. I just wanted them to stop hurting these kids….my bare hands….I snapped his neck." He tells her – and as he speaks, he can hear their cries, he can hear their screams of pain because of the mechs.

His breathing, if possible, becomes heavier, and his chest heaves more as he lifts his hands to cover his face – and he leaves them there, until he feels her soft touch – her hands, against his, as she lowers them from his face. And as she does, Hal sees that her cheeks are stained with the residue of fallen tears.

"I'm so tired, Maggie. God…I'm so tired…I can't-I can't…." He tells her, as he drops his head, and closes his eyes.

She moves into his chest, and puts her arms gently around him – holding him as tight as she can.

"I'm exhausted." He whispers, into her ear, as he lowers his head so it's wresting on her shoulder.

She speaks with a soothing voice as she answers, "I know. It's okay, Hal."

Her hands, which rest on Hal's back, rub it soothingly until his breathing slows down, to a normal pace.

"I meant what I said earlier…." She tells him, as she pulls away from the embrace. "About your heart being pure – and you being a good, honest person. You are all of those things, Hal, and so much more. You're selfless, and giving, and brave – and you're such a loving person, who'd never want to hurt another human. You have….so much light in you, and there's nothing that could ever change that. You did…the right thing. I know it doesn't feel like it now. But, you spared those children from further pain."

Hal nods, slowly, as he speaks softly, "I just….I wish we could go back, to before…everything."

"We can't. We can only go forward, and sometimes forward is better." She replies, as she keeps her eyes on Hal. "I mean…before – my life before was not good, at all. And then, I found you."

"I don't deserve you," Hal says, with the smallest smile on his face.

Maggie nods, in agreement, as she tells him, "Yeah, you're right about that, Hal. You deserve better."

"Maggie…." He begins to object.

His eyes fall down, to the silver chain around his neck – The Saint Jude pendant. He pulls it off his neck and steps forward as he says, "It's your turn."

Slowly, he lowers it down, over Maggie's head, and to her neck. It sits on top of her hair, so he moves forward and lifts parts of her hair out of the chain, until the necklace is free to hang around her neck.

His hands drop from her neck, and slowly down to his side – but his right hand hesitates, and instead of letting it fall back to his side, like his left hand, he raises is slowly, to Maggie's cheek – where the bruise he'll never forget that he gave her, sits still on her cheek, fading away.

He'll never forgive himself for that. Even with time, he'll never forgive himself for doing that to someone he cared about. And he'll never forget, or never forgive himself for hurting his little brother – whom he loves, so very dearly. No, he won't forget the looks in their eyes when he hurt them.

His hazel eyes meet hers, which flicker from his eyes to his lips. Hal, unintentionally, does the same thing: his eyes falter from her lips to her eyes. Her beautiful eyes that make Hal feel something so strong, and so indescribable.

His fingers, which rest softly on Maggie's cheek, brush gently over her cheek which is scarred from cuts and burns. The scars are fading though; they're not noticeably to the average human eye– it's only when Hal looks in, so closely, he can see the scar. It's fading, like all scars do. His hand moves slowly, and with care, down to the scar on her neck, from the burns – that scar has not faded yet, and nor has Hal's guilt, or pain, when he thinks of Maggie being out there, alone, in pain and frightened.

She closes her eyes as his fingers touch that scar. A small, shaky sigh passes Maggie's lips as she reopens her eyes, to meet Hal's; he's watching her with such intensity.

She lifts her hands, to his cheeks, and pulls him towards her, his hands fall to her shoulders as their lips meet – and there is such intensity, such passion and trust in this kiss.

Hal's hands, which fall down to Maggie's waist, pull her as close to him as is physically possible as she drops her hands from his cheeks, to his neck. He pulls away, for a moment, to rest his head against hers. They're so close now, closer than before.

He watches her with a silent curiosity before finally speaking.

"Maggie…." He says her name.

She knows what will follow that – they both do. He'll want to talk to her about her time with Pope's crew and before that – he'll want to be there for her, to help her heal. She has no idea how much just being there, and listening, and holding Hal has helped him. He won't heal in the next few days, or the year – but it's a step closer to moving on, to growing stronger, and to, eventually, healing. They can heal together. He wants that more than anything.

Her voice is soft, and almost vulnerable, as she tells him, "It's OK."

"I want to help you…." He tells her, as he closes his eyes briefly.

Maggie hasn't moved her hands from around Hal's neck, and he hasn't moved his hands from where they rest around her waist – neither has moved their heads away from the others, either. It's a comfortable closeness between them, and neither wants to break it.

"You have. You are." She replies.

Hal has helped her, more than he'll ever know. He doesn't know how many times she contemplated ending her life, during her time with Pope's gang – and then, Hal and the Second Mass came along. And they saved her – Hal saved her. He's helped her, from the beginning. And now…look where they are. Maggie has never been _this_ close to anyone before, ever. And Hal hasn't either – whatever this is that he has with Maggie; it's stronger, better and more powerful than anything he had with previous girlfriends. Those meant nothing in comparison to what he feels when he's with Maggie – he never thought he'd feel this way for anyone, especially Maggie considering the circumstances that they met under.

But, he fell for her, and she for him. And this is so much more powerful than either imagined it to be. It doesn't have to be defined as best-friends, which they are, or girlfriend and boyfriend – they're partners; that's the only name that they need for it.

Maggie pulls Hal's face, gently, down towards hers and their lips meet again. Her hand travels up Hal's neck, and into the back of his hair. Their bodies stumble backwards, towards the mattresses but stop before reaching them – Hal pulls away, again. It's not that he doesn't want this, because he does. He loves Maggie, and he wants to be with her. But, he's not sure that she's ready. He doesn't…He doesn't want to rush her into this, considering her path. And if she doesn't want to, he's completely fine with that.

"Maggie…." He says her name, again, as his head falls back into place, against hers, like it had moments ago.

"You OK?" She asks him, after opening her eyes to meet his hazel eyes.

"I've never been better." Hal answers, softly.

Maggie nods, slowly, as she moves her head, slowly, away from him. She watches him as she says, "Neither have I."

It's the truth – with Hal, she's better in so many ways.

And, as Hal's eyes fall down to her lips – he's kissing her before his mind registers it.

Her hands, which had rested on his neck, fall down to his chest; she runs them up his chest, until they find his leather jacket– which, with Hal's assistance, she removes from his body. Then, he helps her to remove her own leather jacket.

She pulls away from Hal, as she rests her hands onto his chest – she drops her hands to the bottom of his shirt, and slowly, pulls it up, up over his chest, and then up over his arms until finally, it's gone.

And they stand, together, with the light of the candles flicker through the room – it illuminates them. After discarding his shirt on the floor, Maggie's hands, which are shaking slightly, fall onto Hal's chest – where the scars are. She runs her fingers, gently, over them. After she runs them over the scars once, she lifts her eyes to meet Hal's – he takes her hands away from his chest and leads her towards the mattresses, surrounded by candles, a few feet away.

Maggie lies down onto the bed first – and then Hal follows her, he leans over her. Mirrored in both of their eyes are vulnerability, complete trust – and love. His hands fall down to Maggie's cheeks, as she lifts hers to his. His hands fall, slowly, to the end of her shirt – but, before removing it, before she reveals herself, entirely to Hal – something that she'd never thought she'd do again, for anyone, Maggie speaks.

"Hal…" She says, as her hands stop his from lifting off her shirt.

Secretly, she's nervous, self-conscious, and panicking slightly. She's not perfect – she's far from it. She's scarred, damaged, and broken in places – and she can't help but fear that Hal will see those scars, and those damaged and broken parts of her.

"Margaret." He teases, with a cute smile.

And, she remembers when they were in the civic together, and he'd called her Margaret. They were so close then, and if possibly they're closer now.

Still with the smile on his face, he says, "I won't hurt you, ever again. And I'm never going anywhere."

Maggie hesitates, before she answers, "The last time you said that, you were abducted by aliens…"

'Well, this time I mean it." He says, still with that smile that holds so much power over Maggie.

That smile that makes her feel so many things – that she can't begin to describe.

"I'm yours, as long as you want me," Hal whispers.

"How does….always, sound?" She questions.

And, as Hal looks at Maggie – in all of her beauty, light, vulnerability, he knows that there is no one else he'd want to spend _always_ with.

"Perfect." He replies, still with that adorable smile on his face.

The night is spent – together, with their bodies, and their souls, as one. As the cool breeze sneaks through the cracks underneath the door, and the candles flicker from the wind – they are closer to each other, tonight, than they have been or will be to anyone else, but the other, for the rest of their lives.

* * *

**A/N: If you're reading this - I just want to say thank you, it really means a lot. And, I hope you're enjoying it. This ones a little bit of a long one, but I thought the longer the better?**

**Oh, and again my apologies for any grammatical errors - I'm writing these chapters later, and later at night and I do read them over, for mistakes, but I tend to miss a few. So sorry!**

**In my breaks from studying, I've been writing as much as I can - and hopefully, I'll be able to post the next chapter soon. So, the other night I was sitting in my room, writing out one of the chapters and I had my music playing, and then I heard this really weird sound - so I stopped my music, and I heard it again, and I could have sworn it was coming from my wardrobe, and I kid you not it sounded like a skitter making like the chittering sound? So, my first thought was "They found me. Yep. I'm so dead. There's no point in fighting it." BUT it turns out, it was my Dad, outside, using this screwdriver tool-thing that sounded exactly like a skitter. I think that could be a little hint that I'm a little too involved in falling skies, since my first and only conclusion was that it was a skitter. So, I don't know why I told you guys that, I just thought I'd share it! Anyway, I'll stop before I make my A/N longer than the chapter!**

**Dear DriftingCloudz; who posted on chapter34:  
Everyone does have a lot going on know, and I wont say that all of their problems are going to be fixed in the next few chapters, but they will eventually. Thanks for the review :)**

**Dear guest reviewer; who posted as Guest; on chapter34:  
Thanks so much for reading, and reviewing. I'm really happy that you loved that chapter, and I hope that you are happy with this one :)**

**Dear guest reviewer who posted as; anonymous on chapter34:  
I'm really happy to hear that it was your favorite Ben/Hal moment and that it made you smile :)  
There will be so more Ben and Hal moments coming up in the next few chapters.  
Thank you so much for reading :)**

**Enjoy!**


	36. The morning light

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The light of the early morning sun is what wakes Maggie from her peaceful sleep – it's the first time, in what feels like years, that Maggie has slept without waking, and without hauntings, or darkness. She wakes to find Hal asleep next to her – she moves, slightly, under his arms which are draped over her, and it's enough to wake him.

He rubs his eyes, twice, before they fall down on to Maggie.

"Morning," He says, smiling at her, as he scratches the back of his head.

With a smile on her face, Maggie answers, "Morning, how did you sleep?"

"Great, you?" He asks, as his eyes fall down to her face and stay there.

"OK. You kick in your sleep, Hal." She tells him.

With a smile, and a slight frown, Hal asks, "Do I?"

"Yes, you do. You scrape your heels, and you kick footballs in your dreams. You've got a lot of issues with your feet, Hal Mason." She says, with a bigger smile on her face.

Hal nods, slowly, he leans a little closer to Maggie as he says, "I…guess I'll have to find some way, to make up for it?"

"Mmm. I don't know, Ed. I mean…I've got at least five bruises." Maggie exaggerates.

Hal kicked once in his sleep. Apart from that, he'd slept peacefully beside her.

"You snore in your sleep," Hal blurts out, with a cheeky, cute smile on his face.

Maggie raises her eyebrows, slightly, as she says, "Do I?"

Hal hesitates before shaking his head, "Nah. I was lying."

They both laugh at that, for a minute. And when the laughs fade out, the smile remains on both of their faces.

Hal moves, so he is lying on the right side of his body. He lifts his right hand up, and rests his hand against it.

"I've never done this before." She admits, as he eyes falter slightly between his, and the bed sheets which she has apparently found very interesting at this moment.

"Done what?" Hal asks her.

Maggie shrugs, slightly, as she answers, "_This…_The next morning. I don't…."

Hal speaks softly, as he says, "We can stay here, as long as you like."

"Well…" Maggie begins, as she rolls on to her side to look at Hal. "As much as I'd like that, you need to go see your father and your brothers."

"What for?" Hal asks, slightly confused, as he drops his hand so that it falls, gently, on top of hers.

"You know what for, Hal." She answers.

He does know; he has to clear the air with them, before the operation. That could be anytime today. And, he knows that he has to fix things with them. He has to try to make Tom and Ben understand, and he has to talk to Matt – he can't go into the operation without saying a word.

"Or….We could stay here, all day." Hal suggests, as he inches closer to Maggie.

"Go." Maggie tells him, with a small smile, as she lifts her hands to his chest and pushes him away.

Hal falls back, slightly, but doesn't get up. He's smiling at her, watching her intently.

"Go," She says, again, still with a smile.

"OK." He says, raising his hands in the air, sightly.

He pulls himself to the edge of the mattress, and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He stays, covered by the sheets of the blanket wrapped around his body, as his eyes search the dimly lit room for his clothes. After pulling on his underwear and his boxers, Hal reaches forward for his shirt, as he does the blanket slips down, off of his shoulders, to reveal to Maggie the scars on his back, and his spikes.

Hal turns his head, slightly to the left, as the sheet falls away – he knows Maggie has seen them; the scars and the spikes. She moves, with the sheet draped around her body, towards Hal and when she reaches him, she presses a kiss to the scar on his right shoulder, and then to his left.

"I thought…." Hal begins, as he shifts on the mattress so that he's facing Maggie on a side angle.

"I thought you wanted to me to go?" He asks.

Her eyes fall down to his lips, and then back to his beautiful hazel eyes. And, as they meet his eyes, she knows she won't be able to let him leave yet. This could be their last morning together. But, despite how badly she wants him to stay with her, and spend the morning in each other's arms – she's being selfish. Hal needs to spend some time with his brother's, and with Tom. They spent last night together, and now Hal needs to spend the morning with them.

"You should go, be with your family." She nods, with a small smile, as she pulls her hands away from Hal's back.

"I'll come find you, later." Hal tells her, before he pulls his black shirt over his body.

He stands from the bed, slowly, and walks towards his leather jacket which he pulls on. Then, he pulls his finger-less gloves back on to his hands.

"I'll see you." Hal says, softly, as he leans down and kisses Maggie on the lips.

It sounds so final - It almost sounds like a goodbye. But it won't be goodbye. Neither will let that happen because neither is ready to say their goodbyes yet.

"I'll see you." She repeats, as she watches Hal walk, slowly, from the room.

He turns back, when he's at the doorway, and his eyes meet Maggie's for a second, before he breaks it and steps out of the room.

"You're up early." Hal comments, as he catches Tom exiting his bedroom.

"You too," Tom says, as he closes the door and takes a few steps towards Hal.

"I heard about Maggie – that's great, Hal." Tom adds, as he drops his head, slightly, and his gaze for a moment.

"Yeah, it is." Hal replies.

"What are you doing up, so early?" Tom asks Hal, as he takes a few steps towards Hal.

Hal hesitates before speaking, and when he does his voice is low, "The operation is today…I just…I wanted to come and-"

"Say your goodbyes?" Tom suggests, as he finishes Hal's sentence.

Hal shakes his head, "No." He says.

"So, it's final then? There's nothing I could say to change your mind?" Tom asks.

"I know you don't want me to do this Dad….But I am, today, and uh….I'd really like you to be there, in the room." Hal replies, as he lowers his head slightly.

"Of course I'll be there." Tom answers, without hesitation.

Tom doesn't want Hal to do this, and he'll never accept this. Even today, Tom still has hope that Hal could change his mind. That he could see how dangerous the operation is, and that there's a possibility he won't make it.

Hal keeps his eyes locked with his father's as he says, "Thanks, Dad."

Tom says, with a surprisingly calm voice, "I don't approve of this, Hal. And I never will. I just…I want you to know that."

"I know. I…uh, I'm-" Hal begins, but stops as Tom speaks over him.

They both know what Hal was going to say, he was going to tell Tom he was sorry – sorry for putting him through this, sorry that he has to do this. And, sorry for what he's done…to Reece, and to the children, and to his family. He's messed things up, badly. And Hal is so very sorry for that.

"I know." Tom replies, quickly. "You don't have to be sorry, though. None of this was your fault."

Hal doesn't answer that, because he doesn't believe that. Despite what they did to him, Hal still had some control – maybe not with the children and the mechs…but with Reece. He had control over his mind in that situation, and that could have ended terribly. That is one of the things that Hal hates most about the harness – that he not only lost control over his body, but his mind. He won't ever let that happen again.

Their conversation is broken by the opening of a door, a few feet away from them – Ben had woken. Well, that's what he would tell them anyway. If Ben was being honest, he hasn't slept properly in months. He casts a look over Hal and Tom, before stepping out into the corridor and closing the door, softly, behind him.

"What's going on?" Ben asks.

"I was just heading down…to breakfast." Tom tells them; his eyes shift from Ben to Hal, and he gestures, slyly, for Hal to talk to Ben.

"I'll join you?" Ben suggests, as he begins walking towards Tom.

Hal objects, "I….I wanted to talk, to you."

Ben stops in his path, and looks from Hal to Tom. "Ok." Ben nods.

Tom casts a long look over his sons standing together in the corridor, before turning and heading downstairs for breakfast.

Ben turns to Hal, and says casually, "What's up?"

"The operation is today. I just…I didn't want to leave things…like this." Hal mutters, as he raises his left hand to the side of his head, he scratches it twice before dropping it back down to his side.

"Oh…" Ben mutters. "Everything is-"

Hal shakes his head, as he says, "Not fine. It hasn't been for….It's just, I am the way I am with you – because sometimes, you just…"

"I annoy you?" Ben asks, finishing Hal's sentence.

Hal considers this for a moment, before nodding slowly.

Ben annoys Hal when he doesn't understand everything – and he thinks that he does. An example of that would be their conversation. Ben had assumed Hal was doing this for himself, but he isn't.

Ben shrugs, and with a smile on his face he says, "It's what little brothers do."

"Mmm," Hal nods, with a small smile on his own face. "We good?" He asks, after a moment of silence that isn't awkward.

Ben nods, "Yep."

"Come here," Hal says, he moves forward, closer to Ben and the two embrace.

They hold each other, tightly, for a minute before Hal breaks the hug.

"You're skin and bones, go get something to eat." Hal says, as he playfully pushes Ben in the direction of the cafeteria.

"I know you're awake." Hal says, to Matt, with a small smile on his face as he closes the door behind him.

Matt opens his eyes, immediately. He swings his legs over the side of the hospital bed, and looks up to face Hal. He has no smile on his face – he knows that something is up. He could hear, a little, of what was happening in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Matt asks, as he watches Hal cross the room.

He walks until he is at Matt's bed, and when he reaches it he takes a seat down, next to Matt.

"You know…." Hal begins, as he raises his hand to his back of his neck – he's gesturing to the spikes on his back. "How I have the spikes?"

"Yeah," Matt nods. "Ben has them too. I don't think they're that weird." He adds.

A small smile falls on to Hal's face, as he drops his hand back to his side. He turns to look at his little brother as he releases a small breath of air.

"I'm getting a few taken out…An operation, today."

Matt is silent for a minute – and when he speaks, his voice is softer, "But – didn't those other kids, who got the spikes taken out died-"

"It's a different operation, Matt. The Doctor…He's only going to take one or two of the spikes out, to see how I react – and see if there are…any changes." Hal replies, he keeps his eyes locked on Matt as he speaks.

"So, it's not as dangerous?" Matt asks, a little more hopefully.

Hal hesitates, while contemplating his answer.

"I don't think so." Hal answers.

Because, honestly, he isn't sure whether this operation will be a successful or a failure, or if it is more or less dangerous then what they attempted to do to the other children.

Matt lowers his head, as he says, "Are you going to die?"

Hal shakes his head as he answers, with no hesitation, "Nope, no I'm not going to die."

Matt looks up at Hal, as he asks, "You promise?"

"Yes. I promise, Matt." Hal says, with a soft voice.

Matt moves, closer to Hal, and tightly wraps his arms around his brother's waist. Hal lowers his hands, gently, to Matt's back. "Buddy…I'm going to be fine. I promise."

"Are you going to eat that, Joseph?" Anne questions, as she closes the door to Joseph's room behind her.

She finds him sitting on the edge of his bed, staring down at his hands. His arms are no longer bound together – they are extremely red, and covered with dry blood. After many, many, many attempts to break free of the handcuffs, Weaver had eventually given the permission for the removal of his cuffs.

He hasn't touched any food that he's been given, since they arrived.

"Take it all, love." Joseph answers, without looking up at her.

"So…is this a hunger strike?" Anne asks, as she takes a few more steps towards him.

"No. It's just a loss of appetite. Since you're here, Doctor Glass – maybe you could….Oh, I don't... release me? This is ridiculous, darling, you and I know it. I've done nothing to deserve this. You know, I'm real good at reading people...And…ever since this invasion, though, it's been a little difficult at times differentiating from the good guys, and the mad ones. And your boy, Reece-y, isn't a good one." He tells her, with a voice that is failing at staying calm.

Anne lets out small sigh, as she says, "Joseph, why don't you-"

"If you suggest that I should calm down, I'm going to throw myself out of that window." Joseph replies, as he stands from his bed and gestures towards the window. "You know…I'm contemplating that, anyway. It isn't such a bad fall, is it? Then I'd be free."

"You wouldn't be able to walk properly." Anne answers.

Joseph shakes his head, slightly, and with a small smile on his tired, defeated face he says, "No one walks anymore, love. We don't walk towards what we want, or what we're afraid of. We run."

"Now," Joseph begins, as he clasps his hands together, loudly. "How 'bout….You take a little walk-sy, down to your Captain, and try to reason with him about the unfairness about this situation in which I have been so wrongly placed in. I am not a prisoner, I've done nothing wrong and nor do I intend to – at the present moment."

"You said that no one walks-" Anne begins.

"You don't want me, and you're not afraid of me. Are you?" Joseph questions, although he knows the answer. No, she is not.

Anne replies, softly, "I think…you just want your son back. That's all."

As Anne thinks of Joseph's current situation, she's reminded of the child that she lost. And, if there is the possibility that Joseph's son is still alive, it is unfair to keep him here. Because, Anne knows she'd do whatever she could to find her son, if he was still alive.

Joseph falls silent now, as his eyes falter from Anne's, to the ground beneath him.

"Mmm. I…uh, I'm sorry, love." Joseph tells Anne, as he raises his hand slightly in the air.

He backs away from her; he doesn't want to intimidate her, or scare her. She's one of the only few people who haven't immediately, or ever, deemed him as insane or mad. And she's one of the only few who he considers to be genuinely nice to him.

"I'll talk to Captain…I'll try…." Anne begins, but stops as Joseph speaks over her.

"I'm eternally grateful, Anne….You don't….Thank you." He tells her, as a small, but genuine smile falls on to his face.

It's been so long since he's smiled, genuinely, and at first it feels strange to him.

"I can't promise anything." She tells Joseph, as she reaches the door.

He nods, slowly, as he retakes his seat on the bed he says, "I know, love. Just…knowing you're trying…that it's not all a waste of time. That's enough."

"I heard Mason Junior's going under, today?" Pope asks Maggie, as he takes a few steps towards her outside of the hospital.

He'd been outside, getting some air, when he'd spotted Maggie heading towards the forest. But, she didn't enter it. No, she just stood on the border of it – as close to the hospital as she could be, without being too close to it.

Maggie doesn't even bother to look back at Pope as she replies, "Mhm."

Pope nods, slowly, as he takes a few more steps towards Maggie. He watches her, silently, for a minute. She is the one to break the silence, though.

"What do you want, Pope? Wait….No, I've got a better question. Why did you suggest a scout of the hospital for MRI's?" Maggie asks, as she finally turns to face Pope.

Pope shrugs, as he maintains eye contact with her, he says, "If you died, Maggie-May…I wouldn't have anyone to be a pain in my ass. Oh, wait no – I stand corrected. I'd still have the whole Mason clan there, being a pain…"

Pope gives that as his reason for looking for the MRI's, for Maggie, because he isn't entirely himself of what that reason is. There is a small, small possibility that deep down Pope cares for Maggie. But, he won't admit that to himself. Not yet.

"Well….Don't expect any gratitude. You owe me." She replies, sharply.

"I owe you?" Pope asks, with a little laugh and a small frown on his face.

Maggie nods; she turns away from Pope, lets out a breath of air and says, "Yeah, you do. Every day that I was with you….every day I didn't kill you – I did you a favour."

"You know…." Pope begins, but as Maggie turns to face him he finds himself, surprisingly, lost for any words. "Did they find anything on the MRI?" He asks, because it's the first thing that comes into his head.

"No." Maggie answers back.

"I always had a suspicion that there was no brain, up there," Pope says, gesturing to Maggie's skull. "I mean….look at your choice in men."

Maggie frowns slightly, as she says, "You were once…."

But, she stops because she isn't sure what she and Pope's time together can be called... she isn't sure what they were. She doesn't think there is a name for that.

"That's my point, exactly, Maggie-May." Pope answers, with a small smile on his face. "I mean…Reece? Really?" He adds, with slightly raised eyebrows and a bigger smile on his features.

"Veronica." Maggie counters, as she remembers one of Pope's 'girlfriends'.

You couldn't really call them that, because it never lasted long enough, with Pope, for it to be a girlfriend. But, Veronica was crazy. Absolutely mad – she used Pope to get what she wanted, and when she was done with him she took all of his money, and what worthy possessions he had, and fled town. That was right before the invasion, and before he'd met Maggie. And Pope…his intentions, at first, were good. He did like Maggie. He had liked her a lot, and had liked the possibility that things could have been different between them, different to how they were with the other one-night, or one-week, stands. It hadn't started out so bad – but they were both in dark places when they met, and they are still, to some extent, in those dark places today. And the invasion only added to that darkness.

"Touché," Pope answers, still with a small smile on his face.

Then, the smile fades as he lifts his right hand to his forehead. He scratches it, twice, before looking back at Maggie. "Maybe…you've got brains, with this one. He's not…all bad." He says, referring to Hal.

Maggie turns to Pope, with a genuine smile that shocks Pope to see since he considered himself the last person Maggie would smile at, and says, "Did you just say something _nice_ about Hal Mason?"

"Absolutely not, I said he's not all bad - that doesn't mean, at times, I don't want to kick his teeth into his skull." Pope answers back. "I'm just….He seems…good. For you…"

"He is." Maggie nods.

Hal is good for her in so many ways; he makes her stronger, happier – and he pulls her, slowly, out of the dark place that she had feared, for so many years, she'd be trapped in until the day that she died. She had never expected to find the happiness that she has found with Hal. She never thought she would ever find someone like him. And even if she did, she didn't expect him to feel the same. Hal isn't just good for her – he's the best thing that has ever happened to Maggie.

"I….uh, I'm sorry about Jane." Maggie says, as the smile fades on her face. She drops her eyes, slightly, as she waits for Pope to answer.

She expects him to freak out, to get angry or mad. But he doesn't. He's almost frighteningly placid. He nods, slowly. "I….I've got to go see, Benjamin." He tells her

"Good luck." Pope adds, as he turns away from Maggie and walks away, back towards the hospital.

As he walks away, he hears her say, "Yeah, you too."

A few moments later, Maggie retraces her earlier steps that led her to the edge of the forest, back inside. She finds Tom, almost immediately. He seems to relax at the sight of Maggie, and lets out a small sigh as he walks towards her.

"I've been looking for you. They're about to start…but Hal wants you there." Tom tells her.

"I don't…." Maggie begins, as she looks up to Tom.

She doesn't think she can be in the room. It's hard. She can't think of losing Hal.

"He needs you, Maggie. And…I'll be there, right beside you." Tom tells her, with a reassuring tone and the smallest smile that he can muster right now.

Tom leads Maggie, silently, towards the room in which Doctor Kadar and Hal are inside. Tom spots Anne, outside of the room, and tells Maggie he will meet her inside.

She enters slowly, and reluctantly, to find Hal lying with no shirt on, on his chest, on an operating table. His head is turned, to the side; and he's lying on his right ear. In his right hand, an IV line has been inserted –he's on a drip of morphine. An IV line has been inserted into his left hand – into one of his blood vessels. Through this line, he will receive the 'donor' blood – Tom's blood.

Doctor Kadar had found Tom, early this morning, on his way to the cafeteria. He'd told him the details of Hal's operation, and how he would need a human blood donor – and, so Tom volunteered to donate. Doctor Kadar had decided that Hal should receive the blood through a drip in his hand, as well as through a needle inserted into the area below the spike.

"Nervous?" Maggie questions.

She can easily read the emotions on Hal's face – she's been there. She saw those same nervous and panicked emotions mirrored in her parent's eyes before, and after, the operations.

"It….Now, I hear your words. From last night – about dying, on this table…" Hal mutters, as he slowly lifts his eyes to meet Maggie's.

She watches him, silently and closely for a second.

"You'll be okay, Hal. You always are." She says, with a soft, kind voice.

Hal hesitates – his eyes falter from Maggie's, to the cold ground beneath them and then back to Maggie.

"I just – I was so confident, about doing this. Because, I thought to myself "If I die anyway, I don't have _that_ much to lose,"…and, you know, then I got you back. And Ben – and…it's so much to lose," Hal tells her, with a quiet voice so that Maggie will be the only one to hear his words.

"Do you think….that now would be a bad time to say I told you so?" Maggie asks, with a small smile on her head as she takes a few steps closer to Hal.

A smile spreads on his face as he replies, "You're not like anyone else I've met before."

"Mmm. So you've said, before." She replies, quickly, with a small smile as she reminisces on that conversation in the old civic.

"You're really not." Hal adds; emphasising the fact that she really is like no one else he has met before.

"Is that a bad thing?" She questions, with a smile playing on her lips.

Hal, who has lifted his head from the table slightly, smiles and says, "No. Not for me."

Tom steps through the door, breaking their conversation, with Ben by his side. Hal frowns, slightly.

"Before you say anything-" Ben begins, speaking over Hal who looks like he was about to object.

"I'm staying here. There's nothing you can do about it. You can't get up, to remove me. And I think that it's fine with everyone else that I'm in here…isn't it?" Ben asks, as he looks from Tom to Maggie.

"Fine with me," Tom says, as he drops his eyes from Ben to Hal.

Maggie nods, in agreement, as she tells Ben, "It's fine with me."

With a slight frown on his features, Hal says, "It's not fine-"

"You don't get a say, Hal." Ben cuts him off, with a smile on his own face.

"Is that so?" Hal questions, with the smallest smile on his own face.

Ben nods, "Yep."

Tom takes a few steps, towards Hal, and then looks back to Maggie and Ben.

"We'll just….over here." Maggie says, as she walks with Ben towards a corner in the room – giving Hal and Tom a moment alone.

Doctor Kadar, who is a few feet away, doesn't seem to notice or care that anyone is in the room yet. He's fussing over something on the table that has been set up. Anne had offered to come, to be here – if something went wrong. At first, Tom had refused because he had wanted someone to be there with Matt. But, then something extremely unusual and odd had happened – Pope had come around, with his son Ben who had wanted to play with Matt.

Then, Pope had told Tom he'd watch over Matt for a couple of hours. Tom had thanked him, briefly, and there were no others words between them. And while a gesture like that doesn't appear to be much, it is for Pope, and Tom won't be forgetting it for a while.

Anne had told Tom that she would wait outside, with Lourdes – so that Hal won't feel crowded. And that if she is needed, all that they should do is call out and they will both be in to assist however they can.

"We're going to get through this." Tom tells Hal, as he kneels down so that he's at eye level with Hal.

Despite how unsure Hal is of that, he answers, "I know."

Tom hesitates, before he says, "You're eighteen, in two days. If you want your presents, you have to make it through this."

"Are you blackmailing me – and presents?" Hal asks, with a grin on his worried face. "What could you get me, Dad? A gun? A motorbike? A game about aliens invading the earth?" He questions; teasing, because he already has those things.

Tom smiles as he shakes his head slowly, he says, "Stay strong. Don't give in."

"I never have before." He replies, quickly, despite the fear that is moving in closer.

"We're all right here." Tom adds, before he leans closer to Hal and kisses him on the forehead.

Then, he stands quickly and retakes his position, a few feet away from Hal. Maggie and Ben, who re-join Tom, both keep their eyes on Hal as they walk towards Tom. And both give him a reassuring, loving look.

Doctor Kadar moves to Hal's side, and mutters something in his ear – only for Hal to hear, before he pulls the small, silver table with all the tools he'll need towards the side of the table. Then, he takes his spot, to the side of Hal – the best angle for removing the spikes.

Roger had told Tom this morning that he would only be removing two spikes because if there was a bad reaction, they could contain it. Doctor Kadar takes the empty syringe, and places it underneath the lowest spike on Hal's back. He inserts the needle, into the point on his back, and extracts some of the fluids, blood and chemicals surrounding that spike, inside of his body. Then, slowly, he removes the syringe and places it on the furthest end of the table –careful as to not confuse it with the syringe filled with human blood.

While Ben's and Tom's eyes stay focused on the doctor, Maggie's eyes stay on Hal's – his eyes are as unreadable and cold as his face. But, he keeps his eyes on hers.

Roger moves quickly, to remove the first spike. Maggie's eyes still don't lift from Hal's – she can't move them, because if something were to go wrong, she'd want him to see her standing there, with him, if…It's not going to happen. She won't let it. She'll save him. She'll keep him safe, always, as he has kept her safe. His hands, which are gloved, pick up a silver, metal clamp from the table and place it around the spike – and he carefully, but quickly, pulls the spike from Hal's back – this is the crucial moment. When the spike is removed from the spine, and from Hal's body – he could live, or die.

Now, Tom's eyes also drop to Hal's eyes. As they do, he gives his son his most reassuring look – and in this look there is such powerful love, and such kindness and hope. The bond that they have – the bond that Tom, Matt, Hal and Ben have is unbreakable. It's powerful. It's pure, and time will never fade it or weaken it. They always have, and always will, find their way back to each other. They will always be there, for the other. Not the alien invasion, not the harness, not the alien abduction and not this operation can break their bond. It will stay, long after they are all gone. They will _always_ have, love and care for each other.

Anne and Lourdes, who had been deep in conversation, pull apart as Tom steps from the room. For a minute, they are panicked – that is until a smile falls on Tom's worn, tired features, as he says, "Hal's OK. He's going to be OK."

And as those words escapes Tom's lips, he's overcome with such a strong sense of relief. Maybe, he thinks. Maybe, his boys will be alright. No - there is no maybe about it. Not this time. He is never losing them again. He will try his absolute hardest to never let any harm befall them again. They'll get through this, together, like they always have and always will.

**A/N: I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who reads my story - it really means so much. Also, to all of you who review, favorite or follow, thank you so much. Also thanks to my sister, who lets me rant for hours about this and is probably sick of me talking about it. Thanks for helping me sort my stuff out!**

**I wanted to say sorry if there are any mistakes or grammatical errors in this chapter. I checked it over a few times, but I've been writing these chapters later and later, so when I come around to editing I'm more tired? Also, I wanted to say sorry for the late-ish update. I've been so busy, and things will get busier. BUT the upside? When things calm down, I'm going to post a lot, and much more often. So, hopefully that makes up for the delays.**

**And despite all of my study for exams, I think about my fic and ideas most of the time - and falling skies, so much so that - I have a sore, reddish eye (probably from lack of sleep and rubbing it) and my first conclusion was "I know what it is. Yep. I am SO bugged." (Like Tom or Hal)**

**Dear Guest Reviewer, Alice; on Chapter 35;  
That's fine! Thank you for reviewing! It means so much to hear that you're still enjoying it! I'm really glad you enjoyed the moments with Maggie and Tom, there will be many more coming up. Sorry for that! Maggie's all in the clear. Thanks so much for reading. Thanks for the good vibes :) I'll need them. Thank you! And enjoy!**

**Dear Guest Reviewer; Fangirlllife; on chapter35;  
Wow thanks so much! You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that. I needed a substitute for falling skies, when it went off TV and then I found myself writing the fic. Thank you so much for reading, and reviewing. I'm so happy you're enjoying it. Thank you! :)**

**Dear Guest Reviewer; Guest; on Chapter35;  
Sorry for the delayed update! I'll try to update sooner. It makes me so happy to hear that it is your favorite Hal/Maggie fic! While there is no doubt that Hal is a great brother - the best, I don't think that in my fic he is ready to be a dad - yet. And while that is a really good idea, and I think that it would bring them happiness I think he's a little too young. Also, I'll be working in Anne's pregnancy. And, Hal being a father doesn't fit in with what I've got planned for him in future chapters BUT if the day should come that I should finish this fic, I could (possibly, probably) do a jump forward of all the characters five years or something after the invasion - and see where Hal and Maggie are then? Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy.**

**Thanks again to everyone who reads this. Sorry for the late update and for any errors or mistakes. And I'll try to post again sooner. I'm going to stop before my A/N gets bigger than the chapter. Enjoy.**


	37. Come on skinny love

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Maggie opens the wooden hospital door to find Hal, lying on his bare chest, on a small hospital bed. A thick, dry bandage has been wrapped around almost his entire stomach. A precaution, Roger had told the, to stop the bleeding and to prevent any possible infections. Doctor Kadar had also insisted that Hal stay down here – in the room next door to his, for the night. So, he could check on him throughout the night, to make sure that all was well. The operation had been such a surprising success – not just to Maggie, but to Hal, Roger and Tom.

"I was wondering when you'd come by," Hal says, with a smile as his face seems to light up at the sight of Maggie.

She smiles back as she slowly closes the wooden door behind her. "Why? So you can gloat that you were right?" She replies.

"I don't know if you knew this already….but, I have a habit of being right." Hal answers, still with a grin, as he pulls himself upwards, into a seated position on the bed.

He leaves enough room for Maggie to join him, and she does. She takes a few steps towards the bed before sitting down on the edge. Hal can easily see that Maggie is anxious about being in the hospital, being in this room.

"It's just a room, Maggie." He tells her, with a softer voice.

He watches her with such intensity – it's like he's memorizing every part of her; every fine detail, every line and each and every mark.

To Hal, it is just a room. But to Maggie, it is so much more. A memory – most of the time, a painful, dark, haunting memory filled with sadness, and pain. But, sometimes, if she's extremely lucky, it is a place where she can see her parents and Robbie again. And, sometimes she's lucky enough to see Henry, in this place. She gave birth to him in the hospital, in the prison. It wasn't a hospital like this, but it still has some similarities. Like the gowns that she had worn, the previous day. She's worn that gown so many times she should be used to it, but she isn't. Each and every time that she slides it on, she feels a part of herself slipping away. It slips away with any hope that she had felt. And those feelings are replaced by worry, and black darkness.

But, this time – with Hal. For some reason, it was different. There was still darkness, and worry and fear as she pulled on the gown that still feels odd, and harsh, against her skin. But there was something else – the hope hadn't disappeared, completely. She didn't feel like such a lost cause, or a lost soul, as she had the previous times she'd worn the hospital gown.

"I know." Maggie says, after taking a moment of silent hesitation.

She smiles at Hal as she moves her hand, slowly, to his. And once her hand is on his, she doesn't want to let go. It feels right. They feel right –all of the time.

"I'm just….I'm glad you're ok." She says, with a smile, as she lifts her eyes to meet Hal's.

It's no surprise for her to find that he is already watching her, with the same intensity that he always does. And this, for some reason, doesn't frighten Maggie as much as it used to. Before, with Hal, when he would look at her like he is now – she'd feel afraid, frightened that he might see inside her, and that with a single look inside of her, all of her secrets, pain, and darkness would be revealed, and he'd run. But, he'll never run, not from her.

"Go, and rest, I'll see you later." Tom tells Anne, as he ushers her towards the hospital room that they've shared for the past few nights.

"How much later?" Anne asks, with a smile as she turns back to face Tom.

"I'll be back, as soon as I find Ben and tell him the good news." Tom answers, also with a smile, as he leans forward and kisses her.

"I'll try to wait up for you. But I can't promise anything." She teases, as she steps through the doorway.

"When do you have to leave?" Benjamin asks Matt, as he looks up from the plate in front of him.

Pope had slipped out, while Benjamin and Matt were preoccupied with the two small toy cars that he'd kept of Benjamin's, and had returned with dinner for the both of them.

"I don't know….Whenever my Dad comes around," Matt says, as he looks up from the bread on his plate to Ben.

"I'll come by tomorrow." Matt adds.

"I'm going to the bathroom" Benjamin announces.

He walks past Pope, who is sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, and towards the bathroom which is in the far corner of the room.

"Eat up." Pope tells Matt, as he stands from the hospital bed to see how little Matt has eaten.

"You can't tell me what to do." Matt replies, quickly.

Pope shakes his head, slightly, as he looks down at Matt and says, "I think I can, Mason Junior, my room – my rules."

"I'm not hungry." Matt answers, as he shoves his plate away slowly.

"Why is that?" Pope questions, although he couldn't really care.

Well, that was what he was telling himself anyway, that he didn't care about anyone but his son - and while that wasn't entirely true, he wouldn't be admitting that to himself, or anyone else, anytime soon.

Matt shrugs in response, and keeps his eyes on the fork in his hand.

"Is it because of that thing – with the older Mason…Hal?" He questions, as he keeps his eyes on Matt.

Matt looks up from the table, finally, and says, "Why do you care? You hate my Dad, and you don't like me or my brothers. We've never done anything to you."

Pope lets out a deep, long breath before he says, "Look, kid, I don't hate you. I just….Your father and I…don't see eye to alien-infested-eye."

"My Dad isn't alien-infested. And neither are my brothers. And you're a jerk for saying it." Matt counters, as he keeps his eyes on Pope's.

"Kid – you have got to…It was a joke, OK? I know that they got all the bugs out of your Dad. What do you want me to tell you? We don't get along. We never have, and probably never will. That doesn't mean I hate him, or your brothers. Benjamin likes having you around, a lot. And….I just want him to be happy. So, if you've got anything else to get off your chest before he comes back – get it out and get over it." Pope tells him.

"You have hair like a girl." He says, with the smallest smile on his face at the last part.

Pope raises his eyebrows, slightly, and with a hint of a smile, he says, "Coming from Goldilocks herself? You looked in a mirror lately?"

Matt, who hears footsteps, turns to see Tom, standing in the open doorway.

"How'd it go? How's Hal?" Matt asks, as he runs over towards Tom.

Benjamin exits the bathroom now, and walks back towards his Dad.

"Good." Tom says, with a soft voice, as he wraps his arms tightly around his son for a second. "It went good. He's OK."

When Tom pulls away, he finds Pope and Benjamin watching him.

"Thanks…for watching him." Tom tells Pope, as he rests his hands on the side of Matt's shoulder.

Pope shrugs, as he drops his eyes slightly to the ground. "It's nothing."

"Uh, Dad….can I see Hal in the morning?" Matt asks, as he turns and looks up at his Tom.

Tom nods, as he says, "Yeah, he's probably sleeping now, anyway."

"I mean….can I stay the night….here?" Matt asks, as he turns to look back at Pope and Benjamin.

Tom looks from Matt to Pope, and says, "Yeah, sure, if that's fine with-"

"It's fine with me." Pope answers, quickly, as he casts a quick look down at Benjamin, who couldn't look happier.

Tom couldn't say no to Matt, not when Benjamin is the first friend that he's made since the invasion that is his age, and has stayed around. And, Tom assumes will be staying around for a long time. Pope seems different, with his son around. Not significantly different, but there are some subtle changes that Tom has noticed. As Tom walks the hallways, down to Hal's room, he muses over the conversation that he'd overhead with Matt and Pope. He'd only caught the end half, but even that conversation is enough to show that Pope is making small changes.

Tom opens the door to Hal's room to find the room empty. He steps inside it, slowly, and calls out Hal's name. Then, he hears the sound of the shower running. Tom steps towards it, and knocks on the door three times before entering.

It's a small room – with a small shower in the corner, and a curtain covering the shower. To Tom's right, there is a small bench top with a sink.

"Hal?" Tom yells out, panicked that something might be wrong with his son.

"Dad?" Hal calls back, as he sticks his head out, on the side of the shower curtain.

Tom calls out, over the sound of the running water, "You OK?"

"Yeah…I was just cold. Roger said that it was OK to shower, and that he'd drop by some bandages and cream." Hal replies.

Tom nods, as he answers. "They're on your bed. Will you be out soon?"

"Na…I don't think so." Hal answers. "Why?" He adds.

Tom shrugs, as he says honestly, "I was just checking on you. That's all."

He was just checking on Hal – checking that he's okay, after the operation, because things could have gone much different today. He won't lose Hal again – not after it seems that there is a possibility that he could finally have him back for good. He won't lose any of his boys ever again.

"I'm probably just going to bed, after this. If you want…come by in the morning?" Hal tells Tom, with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I will. Are you sure you'll be OK alone – do you want me to find Maggie, for some company?" Tom suggests.

Hal shakes his head, quickly, as he says, "No, no. She said she'd come back, later tonight. She's probably getting dinner, or something."

"OK. Good night, Hal." Tom says, with a smile on his face.

Hal smiles back, as he replies, "Night, Dad."

As Tom steps out of the bathroom, and closes the door behind him, Hal pulls his head back through the shower curtain and pulls it back across, so that it's covering the shower completely.

He turns, slowly, to face Maggie with a smile on her face. "I found Maggie," He whispers, as he steps forward and kisses her, gently, on the lips.

She smiles as his lips meet hers, and she whispers, into his ear, as his lips move down to her neck, "So…where were we?"

They're interrupted by the door opening, again.

And with a smile on his face, Tom says, "How rude of me…I almost forgot… Good night, Maggie."

Hal pulls back, away from Maggie, as she covers her mouth to stop herself from gasping.

Hal sticks his head, through the curtain; a laugh passes through his lips, which are curved up into a smile. He quickly says, "What—Maggie isn't in...here."

"Her boots are in the corner of the room." Tom adds.

"Night, Tom." Maggie calls out, loudly, over the running water.

Tom gives Hal a look to be careful, to be safe, before stepping out of the doorway and closing the door behind him.

"It wasn't that bad, Hal." Maggie says, as she blows out the candles in the bathroom and steps out so that she's in the same room as Hal.

He's sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, waiting for her to come into the room. There are three candles lighting the otherwise dark room. She walks towards Hal in the same jeans, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a black t-shirt on top of that.

Hal shakes his head, "You didn't see his face. He's going to want to talk about this…."

"He'll understand, Hal." Maggie tells him, as she moves towards the bed. She takes a seat, next to Hal, and picks up the ointment and bandages that Doctor Kadar had left for Hal.

Hal moves, so that Maggie can apply the treatment to his back. She removes the lid and gently scoops out a small amount of ointment. Hal leans forward, so that Maggie can smooth the cream on to the area where the two spikes were removed.

"Does it hurt?" She asks, as she gently smooths the cream over the holes.

Hal hesitates, before answering, softly, "Na. Not too bad."

After applying the cream, Maggie makes Hal stand from the bed so that she can wrap the clean, dry bandage around his stomach. She does this quickly, but properly, and she is careful not to make it too tight for Hal.

Once she is finished, Hal pulls on his t-shirt and eases down onto the bed – he lies down on his chest, and after blowing out all but the one candle on the table beside the bed, so that they don't waste them, Maggie joins Hal in the bed.

She slides in, slowly and carefully, beside him. She lies on her back, and pulls the blanket up over Hal, and then over herself.

"Tell me about him." Hal says; he speaks softly, but with a warm voice, as he looks up at Maggie.

"Who?" She questions, with a small frown on her features as she speaks.

Hal keeps his eyes on Maggie as he answers, "Your boy."

"Hal…." She sounds tired, as she begins to object.

"You said he had beautiful eyes." Hal speaks over Maggie.

She finally looks at him as she answers, "I don't…Why do you want to know, Hal? The first time I told you about him, you nearly had a panic attack."

"Well…" Hal says, and lets out a small breath before continuing. "What if…the day comes, and you get him back?"

Maggie keeps her eyes, which are suddenly cold, on Hal as she says, softly, "I won't ever get him back, Hal. I'm not good for him – that's why I had to give him up."

"No, you gave him up because you had no choice. So, what if that day comes…I want to know about him." Hal answers, with a softer voice.

"If that day comes – you're saying you'd stick around?" She asks.

He answers, quickly, "Yeah, I would."

"It's a sweet gesture, Hal. But that day isn't coming. And I can't tell you anything about him, because I was only with him for a few seconds…." Maggie mutters, as she drops her eyes from Hal.

She lifts them up to the roof, where she finds an interesting spot and stares at it – it's an attempt to distract herself from Hal's words, and his possibilities, and her son.

"You said…." Hal begins, as he inches closer to Maggie.

He lifts his left hand, and traces the scar on her face underneath her right eye. "That he had beautiful eyes…." He continues.

"Yeah….Beautiful, light blue…with these specks of brown scattered through them. They were so light, and innocent…and pure." She says, with the smallest smile on her face as she reminisces.

"Do you miss him?" Hal asks.

"Mmm. Every day." She mutters. "You know…Hal Mason; you're still a mystery to me." She says, changing the subject.

"Why is that?" He asks, with a smile, as he watches Maggie.

Her eyes fall down to him, slowly, and with a soft voice she says, "You just are….Nothing, like I thought you were….You're unexpected."

Still with a smile on his face, Hal says, "When did you become so wise? And – I'm not sure if I should be insulted by that?"

"You should be." Maggie says, with a teasing smile. "I've always been this wise."

"How did you get this?" Hal asks Maggie, as his finger continues to trace the scar underneath her eye which, to the average eye, is invisible.

But up close, now, he can make out the faintest marking.

"I don't remember…" She answers, quickly.

As the words pass her lips, Hal can tell that she's lying. He knows her too well – he knows her better than she thinks that he does. Better than anyone knows her. And he just wants to be there, all of the time, for her.

"Yes you do." Hal answers, with the tiniest hint of a smile/.

She lets out a small sigh, before saying with a soft voice, "This one night…Reece…we got high. And he went off."

"He hit you?" Hal asks; his body seems to stiffen up at the thought of it.

As Maggie looks up at him, his jaw is clenched tightly together. And, it only gets tighter as the silence continues.

"Hal…" She begins. "It doesn't matter. It was a lifetime ago."

"It does matter," Hal tells her, with a frighteningly calm voice.

"Not to me. Only you matter, to me." She whispers, softly, as she turns on her side to face Hal. "So just…Forget it, please, Hal. I'm trying to."

"OK." He nods, slowly, as his body seems to relax a little.

"Close your eyes, and try to sleep. You look tired." She tells Hal, as she lowers her hand to his.

And when they meet, she slides hers underneath his.

"I just…" Hal begins, as his heavy eyelids shut, against his will.

The thought of anyone ever hurting Maggie, in the past or now, is enough to drive Hal crazy. It hurts him to think that anyone could ever hurt her, intentionally or not. She is such a good-hearted person, and despite everything she is still a fighter. She's strong. She gives Hal the strength to keep going on the days that he thinks he can't – like, after he was harnessed. He was so lost then, and while he is still lost now – that thick, heavy black fog of confusion, and pain, and loneliness that had followed him after he was harnessed, has lifted slightly. It still follows him around. And some days are worse than others. But, there are days like today, and last night, where it had gone completely. When he is with Maggie, he feels better. She makes him better. And, he just wants to find a way to thank her, to make her feel better.

"It's OK, Hal. I'm OK. I've got you." She whispers.

Maggie knows that Hal has good intentions – he always does. Despite whatever thoughts that he's had about himself, because of the harness, he is and always has been good-hearted. And nothing could ever change that. He's a fighter. He's never given up before, and he never will. At times, Maggie doesn't think that Hal truly understands how truly amazing he is. Not just for being good-hearted, but for stepping up at a time when he was needed, for saving her life and others lives countless times. He's risked himself for others more than she would care to think – because the thought of losing Hal, it terrifies Maggie. And it's probably best that she doesn't think about it. Maggie never dreamt of finding what she has with Hal in her lifetime. And now that she has it, she won't be letting go.

Hal opens his eyes, briefly, to find that Maggie's are closed. He pulls his hand out of hers, which causes her eyes to open immediately. She stares at him, a little confused. That is, until, he moves closer towards her, and lifts his left arm up over her, so that it's resting on her lower back. Maggie keeps her eyes locked with his as she lifts her arm, and slides it so it's resting on his back.

And, as their eyes close again, neither says another word. They could – they could say one hundred different things, and spend hours talking, but tonight they don't need any more words. Sometimes, they find themselves not needing words, because just being with the other is enough.

"Dai," Pope says, as he approaches Dai in the hallway, outside of Joseph's room. "I'll take over."

"Pope…I thought Tector was on?" Dai asks, with a small frown, as he casts a look over Pope.

He shakes his head, as he answers, "We swapped. He's doing my watch, tomorrow morning, instead."

"Ok, Night…..Or, morning." Dai says, as he passes Pope.

Pope turns to look through the window at Joseph, who is sitting on the edge of his bed – he hasn't touched his food, and he hasn't slept in days. He moves towards the door and opens it; he takes a step through the doorway and waits for Joseph to look up before he moves any closer.

"Take it." Joseph mutters, as he gestures towards the food on the table "It's cold anyway. Been sitting there for hours…."

"I don't want your food." Pope answers.

Joseph looks up at him, finally, with hollow grey eyes and an empty face. With a low, shaky voice he says, "I don't have anything for you, love."

"I don't want anything from you. Stand up." Pope tells him.

Joseph obliges, and stands slowly from the bed. He says nothing as he waits for Pope's next order. The next words, which come from Pope, surprise the both of them.

Pope says, with a low voice, "Take this, and get the hell out of here."

Joseph's eyes lift from the floor, to the rifle that Pope is holding out to Joseph, to Pope's eyes.

He watches Pope with an uncertainty in his eyes.

Pope answers, quickly, and still with a low voice, "Go down the hall, turn right, keep going 'till you can turn left, there's a fire escape. Go down it – no one will see you, because I told them I was going to do that patrol. There's a bike, down there. And another rifle, with your bag of grenades. That's the best I could do. Go and find your boy."

"Why – I don't….Why are you doing this for me?" Joseph asks, with a shaky voice and empty eyes.

"I know what it's like…to know you're kids out there. And being helpless. Come on; get the hell out of here." Pope tells him.

"Oh, lad…when all this is over – I'm buying you a drink- bottle of scotch…the best…Some cigars too." Joseph tells Pope, as he takes the rifle and straps it over his shoulder.

Pope steps out of the room, and checks the hallways twice before signalling for Joseph to go.

Joseph reads, on Pope's face, that he's a little concerned about sending him out there, alone. But, Joseph has plenty of weapons and a jackpot of grenades and knives in his bags. He's more than capable.

As he's running down the hallway, Joseph calls out, "Ey, lad, I'll blow a couple of 'em bastards apart, for you!"

"So…you found Hal?" Anne asks Tom, as she pulls herself in closer, to his chest.

"Yeah, I did. He's OK. He seems…good." Tom says, after letting out a deep breath of air.

He lifts his arms, around her, and pulls her in as close as possible.

"I was just-" Tom begins, but stops as the door to his room is abruptly pushed open.

He looks back to see Ben – standing in the doorway.

"What is it?" Tom asks, practically jumping from the bed.

"Red-Eye...The rebel skitters are here." Ben answers.

**A/N: **

**Dear Guest Reviewer, who posted as Guest on Chapter 36; Thanks so much for reading! No problem at all, thank you for reviewing! I love to hear what you think of my story. Just because you asked (and because I already intended to do so) I will be adding more scenes of Matt, because I adore him too!  
Hope for the future is good! I won't let it influence me, but with all this time not writing I've been considering my ideas and I don't want to spoil anything, but none of my ideas (e.g Anne's pregnancy) are concrete, because I have to take them into consideration for the future chapters. Thanks so much! Sorry for the late reply.**

**P.s I'm going to try to write, soon, and update for this. I've been writing a Lawless fic, as well as Falling skies and Person of Interest, so I've got a little bit saved up for each, but not enough to post many chapters. I'm going to try to find some free time later. AND on top of all this writing, I have exams. Busy, busy, busy! Just know I'm trying to write this one, whenever I can.**

**Also, I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with me, and I will make it up.**

**Thanks to everyone who still continues to read this, and review, it seriously means so much.**

**Enjoy! :) Xxx**


	38. Just last the year

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made**

* * *

"I'm sorry – let me get this straight…." Weaver says, as he looks from Tom back to the skitter with the red-eye, who is using Ben to communicate.

"You're telling me, that the Overlord that we had…in our custody, was the commander for all military operations on the East Coast?" Weaver asks, with a voice that rises as he speaks.

He lifts his hand, to the side of his head, and scratches it before releasing a sigh and dropping his hand back to his side. He looks up to Ben, who is staring with empty, robotic eyes, back at him.

"Yes." He answers. "The Espheni-" He continues, but Tom speaks over him.

"The what?" Tom asks.

"The Espheni," Ben continues. "Possess an intellect that allows them process and store information at an astronomical rate. They hold so much power because of this. If you had killed him, you would have thrown things into complete and utter chaos."

Weaver looks to Tom, with a look of annoyance on his face, among other things. He'd told Tom, countless times, that they should have just killed the fish-head and be done with him.

"There is, however, an opportunity that you might wish to seize, Professor Mason." Red-Eye adds.

This attracts Tom's curiosity, now. He knows that the rebel skitters wouldn't have come to see them, to just inform them of their mistake in letting he Espheni go. Tom knows he should have killed it, and if he was ever in that position again, he wouldn't hesitate in killing it.

Ben looks from Tom, to Weaver, and says, "The one you call the overlord, will be inspecting a new weapon which is nearing completion. The time to act is now. He will be at a warehouse, not very far from your current location."

"And what would we do, once reaching the warehouse – and- and how can we be sure that we're not walking into an ambush? What gives us any reason to trust you?" Weaver asks, as he takes a step closer to Red-Eye.

The skitter watches him, a little curiously, before he speaks again, through Ben and says, "I can understand your hesitation, Captain Weaver, but do not forget that we have saved your lives before. We only have the same goal as you, to remove them entirely. You are a valuable asset to us, as you can complete the things we cannot. We cannot enter the warehouse undetected, but you can."

"If we were to agree, to this, when would we move in?" Weaver asks, before letting out a small sigh and looking over at Tom.

Tom nods, ever so slightly. He thinks that they should do this. This could be there way to remove the Overlord, and therefore stop all military operations on East Coast

"He will be arriving at the warehouse in two days." He answers, quickly.

It is decided, by Weaver, that they will do this mission. They need to. If they could remove all military operations on the East Coast, they would have an advantage over the enemy. They'd be safe, here, for once. They wouldn't have to look over their shoulders, constantly, and wonder if there were any imminent military attacks or missions, by the aliens.

Hal opens his eyes, to find that Maggie, who is still by his side, is already awake and watching him. The morning light, that has slipped through cracks in the closed blinds, falls down on to the two of them as they lie, still intertwined, with the other.

"Morning," she whispers, smiling at him.

Hal, who feels like he hasn't slept at all, closes his eyes and mutters, "Is it?"

Maggie pulls her hand free of his, and moves so that she's closer to him, if possible. Softly, she whispers, "Happy birthday."

She presses her lips, gently, against his, as her hand falls down to the side of his cheek.

As a smile spreads on his face, Hal replies, "Morning," before he kisses her, again.

Hal believes that he could get used to this. He could get used to waking up next to Maggie every day, for the rest of their lives because every moment with them brings new feelings, some he wasn't sure he was capable of and others that are totally new to him. He can't see himself ever not feeling this way about her, and he can't imagine himself feeling this way about anyone else but her.

"How are you feeling?" Maggie asks, as Hal runs his hand down her face to push a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Better." he answers, smiling, as he kisses her again.

"….Do you want your present?" she asks, as she pulls back from Hal.

Still smiling, and with a slight frown, Hal asks, "You got me a present?"

"You didn't have to do that." he adds.

"I know." Maggie nods, as she pulls herself up in the bed, so that she's sitting.

She watches, silently, as Hal follows her movement, and sits up in the bed. He makes a low, almost inaudible, grunting noise as he moves. He doesn't let on, to Maggie, but his back hurts. It's not the worst pain that he's ever felt, but it still hurts. He won't complain about it, though, because he's sure it's just a side effect of surgery. She looks over his bare chest once but doesn't cast a look over the scars on his chest. She knows how insecure he must feel about them, and she doesn't want to worsen that for him. She knows this because she feels just insecure about the scars she wears. Even now, with all that they have been through, Maggie is still terrified that one day Hal will realise he can do better than her, because he can, and he'll leave her.

Maggie pushes her wavy hair behind her ears, and with a small smile, she says, "Hold out your hand."

Hal laughs, a little, as he holds out his right hand. He watches Maggie as she reaches into her pocket, she stops as a thought crosses her mind, and says, "Don't have high expectations."

This makes Hal laugh, a little more, and while smiling he says, "Just what everyone wants to hear on their birthday."

She shakes her head, and tells him to close his eyes. Hal does as he is told, and holds his hand out, with closed eyes. The smile stays on his face as he feels Maggie's fingers brush against his opened palm, and then, he feels a cool sensation in the middle of his hand.

"Open…. " she says, a little hesitantly and nervously, as she watches Hal for his reaction.

Hal's eyes open, to find a small, bronze coin in his hand. On the side that faces Hal, there is a horseshoe, a four-leaf clover and a wishbone engraved into it. His left fingers turn over the coin to find, on the back, an eagle, with its wings open, ready to take off is engraved into it.

"It's a good luck coin. My father…." Maggie begins, but stops as the word passes her lips.

She hasn't talked about her father in so very long. Hal catches her hesitation, and waits silently for her to continue.

"My father used to collect coins. This was…one of his favourites, and mine. I told you not to have high expectations." she says, getting a little defensive.

It was her favourite coin, and her fathers, and giving it to Hal means so very much to her, and she wants him to love it just as much as she does. She wants it to give Hal the same good luck it gave her father.

"Oh….I had huge expectations, and you passed them. The coin is great, Maggie. I'll keep it with me, everywhere I go. And….you know what?" Hal says, softly, as he moves a little closer to Maggie. "I've got everything I wanted."

"Is that so?" she asks, as she also moves so she is closer to him.

With a smile still on his face, Hal replies, "Yeah, it is."

"That's where you're wrong….Hal Mason. You didn't get me….because you never had to." Maggie tells him, with a smile that falters, as her eyes stay on his.

"What's that mean?" He questions.

Maggie shrugs, and says, casually, "It means….You always had me, right from the beginning."

"You practice that?" Hal teases, as a bigger smile spreads across his face.

He's referencing to the moment, when Hal had given Maggie the speech about how both of them were different now, and she had smiled and asked if he'd practiced.

"A little," she answers, smiling back. "Go on." Maggie adds, as she leans back on the pillow behind her.

"What are you-" Hal begins, but Maggie cuts him off.

"Go and see your brothers, and Tom. They're your family, go and spend the morning with them." she tells Hal, because she could see, secretly, it's what he wanted to do.

No one living in this new world knows how many birthdays that they have left, or how many seconds or moments you have left. You can never waste a moment, because they're so precious and before you know it they'll stop shinning, and disappear into the dark forest. And you can never get them back, or change them. All you can do is relive them.

Hal hesitates, because he wants to tell Maggie to come with him, but he changes his mind and thanks her, again, and gives her another kiss. He pulls on a long-sleeved brown shirt and slides his jacket on, and puts the lucky coin into his pocket. He gives her one last smile, before stepping out into the hallway.

"Hal!" Tom calls out, as he turns the corner and catches sight of Hal. "Happy birthday," Tom adds, with a smile, as he embraces his son, tightly.

"Thanks, Dad." Hal answers, smiling back, as his father pulls away.

He notices that Tom looks more tired than he usually does, like he didn't get any sleep last night.

"Where were you headed to?" Tom asks, as he looks down at his eldest son, who he can't believe is eighteen.

Days ago, it felt like Hal had just turned eight. Not eighteen. It was all happening so very fast, and with each year each of his sons grew older, it felt like he was losing some of his ability to protect them. He wouldn't let that happen, despite the fact that they were growing older – they are, and always will be, his sons, his boys, and he will never stop protecting them.

"To see you guys…" he answers, with a small nod of his head, as begins walking down the corridors, towards whatever room Tom will lead him to.

"Busy night….?" Hal asks, Tom, as the two walk in silence.

"You're going to find out…later, so I might as well tell you now." Tom says, as they continue to walk side by side. "There's a mission, in two days. We're taking out the overlord."

With a smile, Hal says, "About time."

The silence fades away, quickly, and Hal and Tom begin to reminisce, laugh and joke on their way to the room that Ben is sleeping in. When they reach the door, Tom remembers that Matt won't be inside because he stayed with Benjamin and Pope for the night. As Hal's hand touches the handle, and he turns it, it is turned on the other side. A beaming, eager Matt stands on the other side of the open door. His eyes light up at the sight of Hal, and he runs into him, wrapping his arms tightly around his brother. He holds him as close as he can, for a moment, until finally releasing him.

"Happy birthday!" Matt exclaims, still with a huge grin.

And then, Ben appears. He looks tired, too, Hal notes. Hal knows that his brother hasn't slept well in a long time. He knows this because he himself hasn't slept well in a long time, since the harness was forced on him. He finds that he can only; really sleep, with Maggie by his side. And even then, he doesn't sleep for long without his dreams being interrupted.

"Happy birthday," Ben adds, with a smile, at the sight of his brother.

Things had been much better between the two of them, lately. Ben isn't sure what happened to Hal, while he was missing for those weeks, and he's not entirely sure that he wants to know because whatever did happen to him had, for a long time, messed him up badly. Even know, with the big smile that Hal is wearing on his face, Ben can see that there is still something wrong. There is still something dark inside of him, that he's trying to force down, and he knows one day he won't be able to keep it all down.

The scars that Hal wears on his chest, the scars that Ben sees when he closes his eyes, are the reminder that there is something, deeper down, still troubling Hal.

Ben doesn't have a present for Hal, and he apologises, but Tom quickly says, "This one is from all of us."

Hal understands this – material items, he has come to realise, don't mean everything. What means everything, and what you will always have at the end of the day, is family. That's all you need.

However, before Tom presents the gift from all of them to Hal, Matt steps forward, a little sheepishly, with a piece of paper folded into a card in his hands. He tells Hal that he'd drawn it, last night, for him. On the outside is the drawing of a birthday cake, colored and shaded with different colours.

Hal smiles, as he takes the card, and opens it to find a message inside, from Matt.

It reads;

_Happy Birthday, Hal. Sorry you don't have many presents, you can have my skateboard if you want. I guess your present can be that we're all okay, and back together as a family. I'm happy you're home, don't leave again.  
Love Matt_

"Come here." Hal says, grinning, as he pulls Matt in, tightly. "Nah, that's your skateboard."

"You don't want to give it to him. He's an accident waiting to happen. Don't you remember all the times-" Ben begins, with a laugh.

"Hey," Hal says, also laughing. "If I remember correctly, you were the one falling of the skateboard. And I was the one teaching you."

"Your memories going on you already, old man, such a shame." Ben replies, quickly, still with a smile on his face.

With a smile on his face, Tom pulls out a small, white box that he'd found in one of the closets. He'd emptied the contents, and put Hal's present inside.

"Dad…." Hal begins, to say that he really didn't have to get him anything.

Hal had come around this morning just to spend this morning with his brothers and father. That was all that he had wanted, for his birthday, and now that it had come his brothers and fathers were all alive, and well. That was all he ever needed, for them to stay safe, always.

"Go on, open it. It isn't much." Tom says, with a smile that shows just how enthusiastic and excited he is about giving Hal this present.

Hal opens the box to find, inside, a watch – with dark brown straps, with a few flickers of a lighter brown running through the strap. The glass screen, surrounded by a light edge of gold, rests on top of the almost marble white background.

"It was your great-grandfather's watch. It's been passed down…..And, it felt like….the right gift for you…" Tom says, after clearing his throat twice and raising his hand, a little nervously, to the side of his head where he scratched it once.

"Thanks, Dad." Hal says, smiling.

Hal embraces Tom, tightly, and holds him closely. Things had been bad between them, for a while, to say the least. And now, they have, finally, reached a sort of calm. Things are much better now, and Hal won't ever let things go back to how they were, when he came back. He came so close to losing everything – his father, brothers, Maggie and the Second Mass. He believes, at times, he came so close to losing his sanity. But his family wouldn't let that happen, they kept him from going completely over the edge and they always will. With them, he is much stronger. As long as he has them, he'll be good, again, eventually.

Hal spends the morning with his brothers and fathers, just as he used to spend his last birthdays. For a moment, it feels like old times. Except it isn't like old times at all, Hal realises. He continues with the smile as his mind, cruelly, replays the memories of past birthdays; birthdays that he and Ben had spent, without the physical and mental remains of the harnesses that had been forced upon them.

He thinks of his mother, next. If he's being entirely honest with himself, he thinks of her a lot. He thinks of her smile, and her laugh, and the colour of her eyes. It terrifies Hal, as he comes to the realisation, that he is slowly forgetting what her laugh sounded like. He will always have his memories of her, and of his brothers and father. Those are what matters to Hal most – his memories. He won't give those up easily; he can't, because those memories define him. They made him want to be a better person, like his father, someone his mother would be proud of. The memories make Hal strive for more. They make him brave, in the face of fear. They make him want to win this war, for all of those who have lost someone that they loved, with all of their heart.

"What are you doing here?" Maggie asks, Pope, as she catches sight of him entering the cafeteria.

Pope frowns, slightly, as he says, "Well. I did make the celebratory soup for Mason Junior. Thought you'd be over there, celebrating with him…."

Maggie looks up, towards the direction in which Pope is indicating. Hal is standing, with Anne, Weaver, Tom, Ben and Lourdes. They're all talking, and laughing loudly.

She takes in a breath of cool air, which soothes her as it moves through her body, and says, "Nah."

Pope shrugs, and mutters, "You always were a woman of many words, Maggie-May."

"And you were one of too many," she replies, quickly, as she steps towards him.

He turns to face her, slowly, and says, "Oh…since we're on the topic of words. Something you might want to know."

Maggie lifts her eyebrows, slightly, but mostly maintains the same expression that Pope has never been able to read or understand.

"Yeah?" she asks.

"I let Joseph out." he tells her, with a slightly lowered head.

He says nothing else – just that he let him out. The way that Pope says it, though, is like he's talking about letting out an animal that shouldn't be let out.

Her face hardens, noticeably, as her jaw clenches tightly together. She coughs three times, to clear her dry throat, and says, "He's crazy."

"You said that about me." Pope counters.

She nods, slightly, and answers, "You are."

Pope takes a step towards Maggie, and with a low voice, he says, "Well, ain't that the pot calling the kettle black. Joseph may very well be crazy – I'll give you that one. But, he may also be right about Henry. What's wrong? I thought you'd be-"

She seems outraged by the very idea Pope would think she'd be thankful about this. There is no doubt that Maggie misses her son. She thinks of him all of the time, and those beautiful eyes because that's all that she can see – his eyes. And the idea of seeing him, it terrifies her because she isn't that person.

She can't be the person that he needs, and he already has a family. She knows exactly how it feels to have your family torn apart, and she won't do that to another family. She loves him with all of her heart, all of her soul, and all of her being but she isn't what he needs, now, or ever.

She shakes her head, and says, very quickly, "Happy? Thankful? No, Pope. I'm not. I can't….I can't do this – I can't be…. I'm not that person."

The compassion in his voice that surprises Maggie, as he says, "I know."

Maggie calms down, a little, as she adds, "I can't give him what he needs."

"You don't know that." Pope replies, quickly, because Maggie shouldn't doubt herself when she doesn't know what she could be capable of.

Pope knows who Maggie is, and she's right when she says she is not that person. She's very far from that person, but that doesn't mean that she can't give her son what he needs. Pope isn't _that_ person, and yet, he finds he can provide Benjamin with everything that he needs, and with his son in his life he feels himself becoming a better person. Slowly, as he becomes better, he could one day be the person that Benjamin needs him to be. He could be that person.

"No, Pope, I'm pretty sure I do know that. I'm not good for him-" Maggie stops, as she catches sight of Matt, sitting at a table with Benjamin. He's got a plate of bread, and other small pieces of food torn apart, in front of him.

Pope sighs loudly, and tilts his head to the left as he says, "Come on, Mags, I've already gotten the lecture from the Captain. Not you too…."

"Not now, Pope." she replies quickly.

She steps towards Matt and Benjamin, and once she reaches them she manages a small smile, as she says, "Benjamin, do you mind if I have a word with Matt?"

"Sure." Benjamin answers, with a smile.

He casts a quick look back at Matt, who has become something of a best friend to him, stands from the table and rushes over to Pope, who is already watching him.

"Can I sit here?" Maggie asks, Matt, as she gestures towards the empty space beside Matt.

Matt nods, and mutters, "OK."

Tom, who had previously been in conversation with Anne, turns to look at Matt, who he finds sitting next to Maggie. Hal follows his father's gaze, to his brother and Maggie. He and Tom watch on, and silently, from the other side of the room.

"You don't seem very happy, for a birthday party….." Maggie begins, but stops because she's not good at this.

Matt is a great kid, she knows that. But it's painful, sometimes, to see him because he reminds her of Jimmy, and she was close to Jimmy before he died. And being around Jimmy reminded her of her own son. All that she can think, sometimes, is how everyone dies on her. She's afraid if she becomes too close to Hal's family, that one of them will die, and it would be her fault. Hal's family are the most important things to him, and she knows he wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if something would happen to them.

Matt shrugs, and mumbles, "I am….I guess."

Maggie nods, slowly, at this before saying, "You sure about that?"

He shrugs again, and looks down at the food on the plate in front of him. "It's not the same, as it was before. And….it sucks."

"Yeah, it does suck." she replies, with a smile. "But, you know what? We can't go back, to how it was. We can only move forward….things can only get better."

"You really think that?" Matt asks, a little shyly, as he lifts his eyes to Maggie.

Still smiling at him, she nods and says, "Yeah, I do."

"I don't want to lose Hal again, or Ben." he tells her, honestly.

His brothers mean so much to him, as does his father, and he never wants to lose any of them again. It was scary, and painful, without them and he missed them every single day.

"So, that's what this is about…." she says, before continuing, "They're not going anywhere."

"I've heard that before." he replies, quickly.

"So have I. You know, you're brothers love you, a lot. So….They won't leave without a fight. And you know how stubborn both of them are, right?" Maggie says, as she keeps her eyes on Matt.

Now, the smile breaks out on Matt's face. "Yeah," he nods, as the smile spreads further and his face seems to light up. "Thanks, Maggie." he adds.

Maggie stands from the table, so that Matt can go over to Benjamin. He smiles at her, as he passes her and runs towards Benjamin.

Hal steps towards Maggie, and gently places his hand on to her lower back. "You OK?" he whispers, as she turns to face him.

"Yeah…." she answers, with a smile. "I'm better, now."

"ANNE!..." A voice, at first unfamiliar, can be heard echoing through the hallways.

Only Hal, Ben and a few others in the room hear it above the chatter. The chatter fades, quickly, and the voice is heard calling Anne's name again. Tom, gently, moves Anne so that she's standing behind him.

"Jesus….Glass...Doctor….." The voice becomes louder, before finally appearing between the open doors of the cafeteria.

As he comes to stand before them, Maggie realises she did recognise the voice. Joseph.

But this man does not look like Joseph. The man standing before them, in his shredded and torn coat dripping in blood, looks nothing like Joseph. What she recognises him by are his eyes, they are as grey and empty as ever.

His left hand, which is shaking, is clutching at the side of his neck where the blood seems to be coming from. And then, she sees his right hand, holding painfully at the side of his chest. He moves a little closer towards them, limping, he stumbles. Pope, who is closest to him, manages to catch him before he touches the ground, and he gently eases him down on to the ground.

Anne steps past Tom, and rushes over to Joseph with Lourdes by her side. Hal, Maggie, Tom and Weaver aren't far behind. All eyes in the room stay on Joseph, whose bloodied left hand that was keeping the pressure on his neck, falls down and clutches tightly at Pope's arm.

"The crawlies….." He mutters, with panic stricken eyes, as he stares directly at Pope.

Pope stays unmovable, as he tries, but fails, to free himself from Joseph's tight grasp. Despite his severe injuries, his loss of blood and his weakness - he is still incredibly strong. Fear has a special way of igniting a power, a strength, inside of some people.

"What happened to you, son?" Weaver asks, as he watches Anne begin to inspect Joseph's wounds.

But Joseph won't lift his hand from his chest, and he won't release his grip of Pope's arm. "The crawlies…..tried…..He's outside…." Joseph mutters, as he closes his eyes and swallows a painful breath of air.

He can feel himself drifting off slowly. And despite his hardest efforts to fight it, he feels himself losing. All he has ever wanted was his son, because he loves him so very much. And now, he was going to die without saving him. He'd promised his wife, after she'd been killed by the skitters, that he'd save his son.

"Who is outside?" Weaver asks, as he keeps his attention on Joseph.

His voice is almost incoherent as he says, "The boy….."

Maggie's first assumption is that Joseph is talking about Henry – that is Hal's and Pope's first assumption too. Joseph opens his eyes, and looks up at Maggie as he says, with a regretful tone, "Not that boy….love…terribly….sorry."

Tom, Weaver and Hal, accompanied by Ben, Maggie and Tector head outside, with weapons, prepared for whomever or whatever is awaiting them outside. Tom leads the way, and is the first to see who the boy Joseph is referring to – Reece.

He's lying, lifeless, a few feet away from the door. He's covered in just as much, if not more, blood than Joseph. He's injuries, even from first glance, seem more severe from the amount of blood that covers him - he's soaked in it.

Tom drops to his side, and calls out for Ben to bring Lourdes, or Anne.

"Reece….." Tom begins, as he gently taps Reece's cheeks.

His eyelids flutter, for a moment, before opening slowly. Tom sees panic in his eyes, first, and then pain.

"Am I home?" Reece asks, as he tries to sit up but he finds himself too weak, and overcome with pain.

"You're going to be OK." Tom says, in an attempt to reassure the frightened Reece. "I need some help….." he adds

Hal and Tector kneel by Reece's side, and begin to put pressure on the wounds as they wait for Lourdes or Anne.

"We need help!" Tom calls out, again, since neither Anne nor Lourdes has shown up.

"I-I-I'm going to die, aren't I?" he asks Tom, weakly, as his eyes remain focused on Tom.

Tom shakes his head, and confidently tells him, "No, no you're not going to die. OK? Stay with me, talk to me."

"I need…..tell you…..something…" Reece says, to Tom.

Tom frowns, slightly, but nods and leans a little closer to Reece.

"I did it." he whispers, in Tom's ear.

Tom looks up, as the words enter his ear, at Hal who is keeping pressure on one of the many wounds while looking at his father.

Reece says, with an incredibly shaky voice, "I took Henry…He's at car….shop….south."

Lourdes appears, now, and drops down to Reece's side, but Reece tries to fight her help because he doesn't want it. He wants Maggie, he needs to see Maggie.

"Maggie?" he calls out, with a voice filled with fear and panic.

Tom and Hal look up at Maggie who is, standing motionless, staring at the blood only a few feet away from her.

Reece repeats her name, several times, and continues to push Lourdes' help away, until Maggie appears before his side. She kneels down, next to Hal, and close to Reece's face.

When his eyes, which continue to blur and then return to normal, find her he forgets everyone else.

"Are you-you angry, with me...? You are….." Reece mutters, as he turns his head more to face her.

Maggie stays, beside Hal, with her eyes glued to the vulnerable and weak state that Reece has been reduced to.

Reece says, through a small sob that passes his dry, cracked and bloodied lips, "I should've come…..I know…."

"Come when?" Maggie asks, with a frown, as her eyes flicker up to Lourdes who has begun to attempt to assess the extent of his injuries.

As her eyes fall on the area of Reece's leg, that Tector is keeping pressure on – the femoral artery, she knows that the outcome isn't good. Tector knows this too, from his time in the army.

"After you had him…..I left you-" he mutters, softly.

"You're fine, Reece." she replies, quickly, as she fights to keep up her unreadable, emotionless expression.

"I-I-I don't want to die….like this. I don't want to die, like this Maggie…..It's all screwed up…."

Maggie moves, closer to Reece, and her hands, which are shaking slightly, take Reece's left hand in hers. She closes her eyes, briefly, as she takes in a breath of air.

He softly says, "I messed everything-"

"No, you didn't, Reece." she tells him.

His grip on her hand tightens as the pain worsens, and he too shuts his eyes. While they're shut, Maggie presses her lips together, before she pulls herself together, briefly, and says, "You didn't mess anything up, Reece. We didn't get put in prison."

Reece keeps his eyes closed, as he mutters, "Didn't we?"

Maggie looks up, at Lourdes, who nods, sadly, at her. It doesn't look good – there isn't much they can do to save him. He's lost too much blood, and the internal injuries, from her assessment, are irreversible.

She lowers her eyes, back to Reece, and continues, with a soft voice, "No, we didn't go to prison. You got a job, and we bought that house, by the beach….the one you always wanted…."

The smallest smile appears on Reece's pale white face, which is smeared with his and Joseph's blood.

"We did?" he asks.

"Mhm…." she nods, as she lowers her head a little lower. "And, we had a little boy….His name was Peter."

To distract herself, from the tears that she knows are about to fall, Maggie pushes Reece's wet, bloodied hair, from his forehead, and gently strokes his head. She feels so many overwhelming, and dark, emotions right now and she can't fight them all at once, she feels too weak to do that.

"After…my grand-father….?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper as he speaks.

"Mhm….." she mutters, as involuntary tears fall down, despite her hardest attempts, on her cheeks.

"Did we get married…..and—" he begins, but stops as he begins to cough. He continues, with a shaky voice, "Did you get your garden?"

"Yes, I did. And we were happy." she whispers, as Reece's grip on her hand tightens significantly.

His eyes close again, as he tells her, honestly, "I only wanted….that."

She nods, as she continues to gently smooth the hair on his head, "You did. You made me happy. We got the yard, you wanted…We got all of those dogs, and Peter loved you….We were all happy."

They were, at one point, happy. At one point, they both made each other happy. But the happiness never lasted, because they were toxic to each other in the end. They were both struggling with the darkest kind of demons, and they couldn't help each other. But, in the end, Maggie could help Reece. As he slipped from this life, she helped him. She was by his side as he was by her side, at the beginning, when she slipped into the person she is today.

**A/N: Firstly, I want to say a big, big thank you to everyone who reads this story, to everyone who follows or favorites it really means so much. And thanks so much for waiting and being patient. I don't think I can thank you enough, I'll try to though.**

**Also thanks to my sister who listens to rants & etc. You're awesome it's that simple.**

**You guys are so awesome!**

**I hope you enjoy this one. I'm not too sure about it and still a little nervous about this one. So, let me know what you think and I hope that you enjoy. Thanks Xx**

**P.s I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors or mistakes, I've checked it over so if I miss any I'm sorry.**


	39. We were never here

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made**.

* * *

The peaceful and momentarily happy afternoon that the members of the Second Mass had enjoyed had quickly slipped into that of dark, cold and unwelcoming night. Tector, Tom and Hal had carried Reece's body inside, to the nearest room. But, he was already gone. There was nothing that anyone could to do save him. He had died, with their hands holding him together, and with Maggie's hand on his.

Lourdes had to leave, after covering Reece's body with a white blanket, to help Anne with Joseph. They'd left his cold body, inside the colder and empty room, until he would be buried.

Tector had been the first to leave, and had busied himself by finding a shovel, and with Dai's assistance, he had begun to dig a grave for Reece. Hal had turned around, as he'd exited with Tom, expecting to find Maggie behind him but instead he found emptiness. The hallways were empty, and marked with the bloodied stains of Joseph's attempt to crawl inside for help.

Tom had told Hal to go, and find Maggie, and that he would stay outside of Joseph's room and wait for any news. As he waited, for Anne or Lourdes to exit, Reece's bloody death, and his words, played, and played, through Tom's mind. As did the image of Joseph, weak and defeated, holding his bloodied body together. Tom had told Weaver, about Reece's confession about Henry's location, and Weaver had responded that he needed time – time to go over the plans of tomorrow's mission, against the overlord.

Captain Weaver would have to divide his men, now – send a few, to scout the location where Reece had claimed he'd left the boy. Weaver had told Tom that he needed time, time to determine which fighters they would need, tomorrow, if they were walking into a trap in which they could, possibly, not walk out of.

Hal moves, quickly, through the empty hallways in the hospital, checking most of the rooms for Maggie. He'd checked outside for her, first, and hadn't found her. Then, he'd searched the rooftop, but still he hadn't found her. He was coming towards the room that they'd been staying in, and had hoped she'd be in there.

As his hand falls down to the door handle, he now realises the amount of blood that has stained his skin, and his clothes. Hal hesitates, before drawing in a quick, sharp breath of air and opening the door to their room.

"Maggie?" he calls out her name, softly, as he observes the room.

Their bed is empty, as are all of the chairs and couches in the corners of the room. As he turns, to close the door, he hears a noise come from the bathroom. He steps towards it, cautiously, and calls out to Maggie again.

He receives no response, and as he pushes open the bathroom door – he finds her, lying flat, on her back, on the cool, grey tiles of the hospital. She hasn't tried to remove the blood, yet, or remove her blood stained clothes.

She had gone to their room, first, to change and clean her skin but as she'd neared the bathroom her eyes had fallen down to the tiles, and she'd found herself lying on them. The coolness of the tiles soaked through her body, and eased her burning skin.

Hal kneels down, to her side, immediately and in a panic, his hands which rest on her shoulders, shake her a little. "Maggie…..Are you OK?" he asks her, clearly panicked, as she opens her eyes, so very slowly.

"It's cold." she says, so very softly. "Down here." she adds, once noting Hal's confusion from his slightly creased brow.

"You're OK?" he questions, still holding his breath in. "You didn't fall?" he checks.

Maggie shakes her head, slowly, and with a very low voice, that is almost inaudible, she says, "Na…Join me."

Hal casts a quick look, over her bloodied clothes and hands – his eyes fall to her left cheek, which is smeared, lightly, with blood. He considers, for a moment, joining her but decides against it because what Maggie needs is to clean up, out of these clothes, and sleep.

"How about…." Hal begins, as he keeps his eyes closely on her. "We get you cleaned up, wash the blood away-"

"There's no point, is there? If you really think about it, the blood is always on our hands. Washing it away from the surface doesn't remove it from our skin. It's much deeper than that. We can't get rid of it." she answers, quietly, as she holds his gaze.

There's something different in her eyes, this time, though. Something that Hal has seen before but never to this extent – the darkness. It's back. And she's struggling to fight it as it swirls inside of her breaking her faith and hope down slowly. It's breaking her down, slowly, and he won't let it break her entirely.

"Reece's death wasn't your fault." he says, forcefully, so that she will believe him.

But she doesn't believe him. She still holds the guilt, for his death, and she always will.

"Yeah? Well, things would've turned out differently, for him, if I hadn't met him." she replies, quickly.

"You can't –" Hal begins, to say that she can't blame herself.

"I'm tired, Hal." Maggie cuts him off. With a softer voice, she continues, "I'm so tired of this….All we do is dig graves, and fill them."

Hal nods his head, slowly, as he considers her words. They have lost a lot of good people, but they can't hold the blame because it would drive them all insane. They have to win this war, both with the aliens and with their own minds, for the people that they've lost.

"Maggie….." he says her name, so softly and so gently. "From the day that the aliens came…we were always going to lose people. We can't control that, and we can't blame ourselves for it. Because, if we do, if we blame ourselves – we'd go insane, and we can't go insane until after we win."

"What if we don't win? What if….There's no point, in us fighting this war? What if our fate is just as inevitable as theirs?" she asks, with an empty, low, almost shaky, voice.

Hal watches as her eyes, which had previously held his gaze, fall down slightly, to his blood stained hands. All that she can stare at is the blood that covers the both of them.

"We will win, Maggie. We're going to win for them." he tells her, softly. "All that we can do is fight, and when we fall, we have to get back up, clean ourselves up and try again."

Hal takes Maggie's bloodied hands with his own hands and helps her to stand from the floor. He guides her towards the sink in the corner of the room and turns the tap slowly. After washing his own hands clean of Reece's blood, Hal steps aside so that Maggie can clean her own.

He watches her as she hesitates; her dark eyes are fixated on the blood that trickles towards the silver, cold drain and then slips through the cracks, down the drain and gone forever.

He looks up at her, and says, "I'm gonna get some clean clothes."

She nods but doesn't answer as she begins to; roughly, scrub the blood from her own hands, wrists, and face. She's not quite sure how his blood stained her cheek – but she'll never forget the image, as she looks up into the small, square, bathroom mirror. The only light in the room, comes from the tiniest window on the other side of the room, provides the smallest amount of light which is enough for her to see the dry blood resting on her cheek.

She looks down at the bloodied sink water, which was once pure and clear, but is now tainted and painted red. She can't forget this – the blood. It surrounds her and swallows her. It frightens her and follows her. Worst of all, it taunts her, painfully with memories of whose blood it is she is covered in.

"Maggie…." Hal repeats her name, three times; before she registers that it is him calling to her.

She turns to face him clean of blood on the surface. But it'll always be there. She's feared that, and known that, all along. The blood doesn't truly fade away once washed from the surface. It soaks into your skin and into your bones and becomes a part of you. The blood and the guilt defines you.

Hal, who has changed into clean clothes, tells Maggie, as he passes her a pile of clean clothes, that he'll be outside. He waits for her, outside of the bathroom. She doesn't take long, and when she returns, she looks exhausted.

"You should go." she tells him, with a soft voice, as she takes a few steps towards where Hal is standing, by the edge of the bed.

"What?" he asks, already with a frown on his features.

She shakes her head, and with the smallest smile that holds no happiness or joy, but rather embarrassment and shame, she says "I can't stay here. In this room…"

Hal nods, and says, with the smallest smile of reassurance. "Then, we'll go upstairs."

"No." she cuts him off, quickly. "I can't stay in here with you, Hal. I should've left the Second Mass, a very long time ago."

"No, Maggie. This – It won't work," he tells her, as he steps towards her. "You're not pushing me away, and you aren't running away. And don't give me some speech about how it's for the best, when it's not." he says, each word confidently.

He won't lose her. He won't let her push him away. They're too close, now, for that to work. They mean too much to each other for that.

"I'm not good for the Second Mass, Hal. Or you, and your….family." she tells him, honestly, as she looks up at him with a face painted with regret and anger.

"It's not working." Hal says, loudly.

She ignores his words, and says, "You're not changing my mind."

"And you're not changing mine!" he replies, yelling a little loudly than intended. "You're not changing my mind, about you. You think that you're not good for the Second Mass, or for me, or for anyone – but you are, you're good for all of us." Hal stops, to take in a breath of air. He says, much more softly than before, "You're good for me."

Her eyes flicker between his eyes, and the emotions on his face. His forehead is still creased, slightly. He wears a pained expression on his face. He can't lose her. It would shatter him, and break him, and he'd never stop searching for her.

"Yeah, well…." she says, with a low, almost defeated, voice. "I thought I was good for Reece, and he's dead. Henry? He's probably dead too. I thought I was good for Jimmy, and Boon, and my entire family-"

Hal says, softly, "Their deaths aren't your fault, Maggie. You can't carry this guilt…this blame. You need to sleep."

"I can't sleep, Hal. OK? That is the last thing that I want to do." she answers, as she steps away from him and moves towards the door.

Hal moves with her, and stops her from leaving. "Come on…." he tells her.

She frowns, now, and watches him, slightly with curiosity, as he holds out his hand.

"What- I don't understand, Hal…." she tells him, as she continues to stare at his hand, previously stained with blood.

"Well…You know…when I was younger…." Hal begins, as he takes her hand and leads her back towards a less cluttered part of the room. "I would've been five or six...Closer to seven. I was terrified of storms."

"Mmm?" Maggie mutters, in response.

Hal steps in, closer to Maggie, so their bodies are pressing up against the other. He takes his left hand, and, gently, slides it around the side of her stomach, towards her back. "My….mother…She would, stay up with me until the storm had passed. During it, we'd dance. And, I'd calm down….."

"Hal….." Maggie begins, to protest, but decides against it and, slowly, moves her own hand, that isn't held by Hal's, and places it on Hal's back.

She notices that Hal straightens up, only slightly, as she touches the spikes on his back. A small, cool breath of air passes Maggie's lips as she pulls Hal a little closer to her. They hold the others gaze,as they step, slowly, around the room. Within minutes of the slow soothing dancing Maggie already feels slightly calmer. She lowers her head, slightly, to Hal's and they rest their heads against each other.

"Captain Weaver's holding a meeting, tonight…." Hal tells Maggie, as they continue to move, slowly, together. "About tomorrow's mission and the scout for Henry." he adds.

"What – what are you talking about, Hal?" she asks, with a low voice.

"Yeah, Reece said…." Hal says, as the two stop dancing, and he watches Maggie as she pulls back, slightly, from Hal.

"You didn't hear….Reece?" he asks her.

Maggie shakes her head, and says, "Hear what?"

"Reece took him. He took Henry, from Joseph's camp. Car shop, south—"

"What are we still doing here?" she asks, a little angrily, as she pulls away, entirely, from Hal.

Maggie walks quickly, despite Hal's protest at first as he'd insisted that she needed to rest, towards Captain Weaver's room. Hal follows her, as quickly as he can. They find Weaver alone, leaning over a map on his table. He looks up at them, with no surprise because he'd assumed Maggie would be coming to see him.

"Margaret…." He begins, but she speaks first.

She tells him, "I want to go, on the scout, Captain."

"They've already gone." Weaver answers, as he steps towards the two of them.

"What….Who? I should go-" she says, quickly and with slight anger.

"Three of our more capable civilians, Lourdes, and Anthony – he offered himself, to go. We need him, but we also need you tomorrow, Margaret." Weaver tells her, as his eyes move from Maggie to Hal.

It was a hard decision, sending Anthony and Lourdes, and an even harder decision choosing the three capable civilians – they volunteered to go. Tomorrow could, potentially, be a death trap. And they needed to be prepared, as best they could.

"I didn't know Reece very well." Weaver begins, as he looks up at the crowd of the Second Mass, who have gathered for Reece's funeral.

Weaver looks over at Maggie, who is starting, lifelessly, at Reece's covered body in the ground. Hal, who is standing beside Maggie, doesn't say anything as he intertwines his hand into hers. Neither say anything, or look at the other, as Captain Weaver continues.

"But, I did know that he was a good man. He was a fighter. He fought for us, against the skitters – he fought for the life of a man, and a boy, he died for them. He was an honourable, strong man who will be missed. We will win this war, for those we have lost, like Reece. They will remain a part of each of us, and the Second Mass." Weaver says, softly, as his eyes flicker over the members of the Second Mass before falling to the grave beside him.

"You OK?" Hal asks Maggie, once the funeral is over, as the two walk, slowly, towards the hospital.

Maggie nods, unconvincingly, before she says, "I-I just….I need to be alone, for now, Hal."

"Maggie….." he says, after letting out a small sigh.

She shouldn't be alone, right now. He wants to help her as she has helped him countless times before.

"I just need an hour, alone, Hal. OK?" she says, as she drops her gaze from his.

When she meets his gaze, once more, he nods, with a clenched jaw. "OK." he answers, reluctantly.

He watches, silently, as Maggie moves back towards the hospital. He only wants to help her, and be there for her, and help her to heal, as she has helped him.

Maggie makes her way, quickly, up to the roof of the hospital. It is, as it has always been, a place in which she seeks solace. The cool air refreshes her, the lack of walls calm her. The hospital rooms remind her of the pain that she endured, inside and out of them. They remind her, painfully, of her family.

"Nice funeral?" Pope, who was leaning against the edge, asks as he catches sight of Maggie stepping out on to the roof.

She nods, slowly, but stays silent. That is, until, a question enters her mind and passes her lips. "Why didn't you come?"

As she steps towards Pope, she catches sight of the bottle of whiskey in his hand. Pope shrugs, and mutters in response, "Never liked him…Just because he's dead…. doesn't change that. You didn't like him, either….if memory serves correct."

Pope watches Maggie, with curiosity, as she joins him, leaning against the edge. She ignores his words, and his obvious stare, and looks out at the sky before them. The sun is almost completely gone from the sky, and soon night will fall and the stars will appear. The darkness isn't so bad, up here, when the stars come.

"Ah….Do I see a flicker of guilt in your eyes, Maggie-May?" he asks, before swallowing a larger mouthful of whiskey. "Don't….this wasn't your fault. If we're playing the blame game, look to me, Maggie. I let Joseph out, Joseph dragged Reece along, and therefore I am entirely responsible for yet another death."

"Why don't we just blame it on the skitters and shoot some of their heads off?" Tector, who was standing in the doorway, asks.

He walks, slowly, towards where Maggie is leaning, and rests against the ledge with her.

"Or….we can kill the fish-head tomorrow, and turn everything into complete chaos. Then, we start blowing some skitter heads off?" Pope suggests, before swallowing some more whiskey.

"All we can do…." Tector mutters, in response. "We get those bastards, tomorrow, for everyone who has died….We can do it, for them."

Tom walks, slowly, with Weaver back inside the hospital. They make little talk, about Joseph – who had survived, and should, with time, recover fully. It will be a long time, Anne had told Weaver, before Joseph will be of his full strength again.

As they reach the hospital stairs, Tom turns back and says, "You've sent Anthony –" he stops, as his eyes fall on Ben and Hal.

The spikes on Ben's back have lit up, and their glowing. Hal, who is standing next to Ben, has his gun in his hands, immediately, ready for any immediate attack from skitters. Hal stands ready to protect his brother, and the rest of the Second Mass, from any skitters.

"There is no need for weapons, yet, Hal Mason." Ben says, calmly, after observing Hal's drawn weapon.

He steps towards Tom, and says, loudly, "Professor Mason, we regretfully inform you that we have faced some momentary trouble with the mission."

"Momentary trouble?" Weaver repeats, as he steps forward, towards Ben. "Did you attack our guys-"

"What are these troubles?" Tom asks.

"No, Captain Weaver, we did no such thing. Your soldiers were attacked by a group of skitters. We arrived too late to save them, and for that we are sorry. The troubles we have faced are the Overlord has changed his plans – for the time being." Red-eye says, as Ben takes another step towards Tom and Weaver.

"Changed his plans? How so?" Weaver asks, with a deeply furrowed brow.

"His attention has been drawn, miles from here – military activities in the north. He won't be returning for fourteen days. Professor Mason, and Captain Weaver, I am hoping that you will still continue with this mission, in fourteen days. It would prove to be an incredibly valuable move, if you did remove the Overlord. You would have complete and total control over military operations in this area."

**A/N: Firstly, I want to apologise for the length of this chapter. It's a little shorter than my usual length, but this is where I felt I should end it. I hope that you enjoy it, regardless of the length. Anyway, thank you very much to everyone who still continues to read this. I really hope you are still enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. A big thanks to the people who have reviewed, favorited or followed this story, it means so much. A thanks to my sis, who lets me brainstorm and talk about this idea for hours.**

**I want to apologise for any grammatical errors, I do re-read each chapter but it's more than likely that I've missed some errors, considering I've been writing these later at night. So, if you find any mistakes, feel free to PM me and let me know.**

**Dear Guest reviewer who posted as Guest, on chapter 38 (the first guest reviewer): Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm really happy you like that you loved her moment with Matt. There will be more to come! I'm also really happy to hear I continue to surprise you :) Henry will be making an appearance shortly. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.**

**Dear guest reviewer who posted as Guest, on chapter 38; Thank you for reviewing, and I will make sure to keep them coming. Thanks for reading and reviewing! :)**

**Dear Guest reviewer who posted as Agus, on chapter 38: Thank you so much for reading. I'm really happy to hear that you love my story. I hope I pass them too! I will be involving Maggie's son shortly. Thanks for reading&reviewing! :)**

**I'm in the process of writing the next chapter, and if I get enough done I MAY possibly post it very soon. I'm trying to! Also, I wanted to let you know that I will be including the Season 2 finale, with the mission against the Overlord but I'm adapting it to my story, and there will be changes. The changes will include - that the tower may not be what it seems to be, and I will NOT be including the new aliens YET. Hopefully, you don't mind that they won't be included YET. It doesn't feel right, where I plan for the story to head BUT they will be coming later on. Hope that's okay with you guys.**

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoy. Thanks for reading.**

**My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you affected by Sandy. I wish you the best in recovering, and repairing your lives and I'm thinking of all of you Xx**


	40. Sink of blood

******Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made.**

* * *

**Two weeks later.**

Two weeks – of missions and scouts that result in no findings of any skitters, rebel or enemy. Two weeks of waiting, and a sense of helplessness arising among the Second Mass. Weaver had decided that they should continue with the mission against the Overlord. It could prove to be incredibly valuable. They would hold complete power over military operations – they could have a chance of winning this war, with that kind of power. But the waiting, it was driving the members of the Second Mass slightly insane. It was two weeks that they'd never get back. It was, also, two weeks with scouts that showed no sign of Henry.

Anthony, Lourdes, and the three civilians had found the car shop, which Reece had talked of. It had, however, been empty aside from a few wrappers, which could've been there for months.

Hal had noticed, in those two weeks, that Maggie had been different. He could see in her eyes the disappointment she would never show in her face, or speak of, when those on scouts returned empty handed. She didn't consider herself to be what was best for Henry, but she hated the idea of him being out there, alone and terrified – or worse, dead or harnessed.

They had been lucky, finding Hal and Ben after they were harnessed. It could be different, with Henry, if he was harnessed. It could be too late. Or, he might not want to be the person he was before, if the harness was removed.

On the fourteenth day, those of the Second Mass who were going on the mission – Tom, Anne, Maggie, Hal, Ben, Anthony, Tector, Pope, Weaver, Crazy Lee, Lyle and Dai, rose early and packed all supplies and weapons that they might need. It was decided, a few nights earlier, that Anne would come with them, as a safety precaution if a doctor was needed.

It doesn't take them long to reach the facility which, by its appearance, is abandoned. They infiltrate the facility, through the cramped, underground tunnels, with Ben's guidance, map and instructions.

As they move through the underground tunnels, towards the compound, Maggie stops, briefly. "So….I was thinking…." Maggie begins, as Hal, who is inches behind her, comes to a stop. "That this would be a great place for crawlies…."

"Thanks, for that thought, Maggie." he says, sarcastically, as he shines his flashlight up ahead.

It looks like they're coming to an opening, now. And all that Hal can think, as they move towards it, with his past experience with the crawlies, is that this would be a _great_ place for crawlies. They wouldn't see them coming, they couldn't fight them off well. They wouldn't win – they'd probably all die.

"No, I'm serious." Maggie continues, as she inches towards an opening. As she reaches it, Hal joins her, and she says, softly, "What if we don't make it out of here? I-"

Maggie begins, but stops as Hal speaks over her.

"We will. We always do." he says.

They will make it out of this because they have to – they always do. He'd feared, in a way, what Maggie was going to say next. If she had said that she loved him, like he thought that she might, in a way it was a goodbye, if either didn't make it out of here. And they were both going to make it out of here, and so neither had any reason to say their goodbyes.

They all make it through the cramped tunnels, with no sign of skitters or crawlies. Dai and Anthony set the charges, ready to blow the wall that Ben had identified as being the entrance into the compound. Ben had also told Tom, that he could sense the Overlord in the facility.

"Tick tick boom…." Dai says, as the charges blow the wall.

The Second Mass enters the compound, prepared for a battle against the Overlord, and enemy skitters, which they do not get. Instead, they find a large, glowing tower in the middle of the chamber. This fascinates most of them, and while many wonder if the machine is for use against the humans, Ben speaks up and announces that it isn't for the humans. It appears to be a communication device, of sorts, or so Tom assumes. He's never seen anything like it before.

They split up, and begin to set out the C4 around the base of the machine. Tom, who had previously been looking over the wires and bonds of the machine, notices that Ben's harness, and Hal's, start to glow. Before he, or anyone else, can respond to the sudden glowing of the harnesses, the wires, which had previously hung lifelessly, wrap themselves around each member of the group – they become helplessly strung up, by their hands, at the base of the machine.

They're all strung up, in positions when they can see each other. They're all close together, too, so they can each clearly see the fear in the other's eyes, and faces.

Karen appears, from the shadows, with a smile on her face and a long, silver, glowing rod in her right hand. Hal tenses up, noticeably, at the sight of Karen and what he had endured, under her hand. He is reminded, by her face, of all of the pain that he endured, all of the suffering, all of the blood and what he did, because of her; the children that she had tortured for hours. The children that he had killed with his blood stained, shaking hands, to spare them from further torture and pain at the hands of these monsters.

"It is surprising to see you here, Tom Mason." Karen announces, as she moves towards him. "My Master tried to be patient with you, Tom Mason. He saw you as an ant, underneath his foot – not worthy enough to crush, yet not worthy enough to live. Yet, you exceeded his lowest expectations of you, and you found us. You will die today, Tom Mason, but before you do, you will reveal how you learned of this location."

Tom shakes his head, as he says, loudly and confidently, "If he is as powerful as you claim, if we are such a problem to him – then where is he? Hiding in the shadows, while he uses you as a puppet. I won't tell you anything."

"My Master is here, Tom Mason, and he will gain much pleasure in watching you suffer, before you break, and reveal how you learned of our location." Karen announces, as the Overlord steps from the shadows and towards Tom.

Before Tom can speak, before he can confidently tell Karen he won't tell her anything – she strikes him, with the stick in her hand. He remembers this stick all too well from his time on the ship. It sends millions of shocking, painful volts through his body. The pain is as overwhelming and consuming as Tom remembers it to be – an involuntary moan passes his lips, but he says nothing. He doesn't give her the answers that she desires and this angers Karen, and the Overlord, so. She presses the stick, to Tom's chest again, sending millions of more volts throughout his body. Hal, Weaver, and Ben call out in protest, against Karen's treatment of Tom.

It is Weaver, however, who first catches the Overlord's, and Karen's, attention. She moves towards him, slowly, and with the stick firmly in her hand. She strikes him, without a second of hesitation, in the chest. The pain that Weaver feels is tremendous – the volts surge through his chest, and his heart, and then his entire body. As she pulls the stick away, the volts remains but falls into a numb, aching pain.

"Perhaps you will speak now, of how you learned of our location, Tom Mason?" Karen asks, as she moves to face Tom.

"No." Tom answers, confidently.

He won't give in. He won't let them win. They can still continue to fight this. They'll make it out of here, they have to.

"One thing that you humans do not lack, Tom Mason, is consistency." Karen continues, with a smile, as she steps away from Tom and moves towards Ben and Hal. "We knew you would come here, tonight. We had hoped that you would – because, with your strongest fighters here, the hospital that you are currently occupying is almost entirely unprotected, is it not? We weren't sure how you would find us. But now that you have, you will, before you die, reveal how you learned of this information." she adds, as she stops before Ben.

"As I mentioned, you humans do not lack in consistency, especially, when that consistency is related to your family. You would die for them, and they for you, Tom Mason? Perhaps, you will talk, for Ben's sake?" Karen suggests. "Or….Hal's?" she adds, as she moves the stick between the two.

"Don't hurt my boys!" Tom calls out, loudly, as he struggles, but fails, to break free of the binds.

"He's afraid, Tom Mason. I can sense it. I can see it in his eyes. Terrified. Of me, Hal?" Karen asks, taunting him with a smile, as she stares up into Hal's eyes. "Would you really wish to put your son through that, again, Tom Mason-"

"You don't touch him!" Maggie cuts Karen off, loudly, as her eyes remain on Karen.

She knows what they put Hal through, after he was harnessed. And she won't let Karen, or any of the aliens, hurt Hal again. She will do whatever she can to protect Hal, and the members of the Second Mass, even if that means risking herself for them.

They would, if she was to die, continue on without her. But, if Hal was lost, they would struggle. Hal's family would struggle – she couldn't live in a world without Hal Mason. He makes her happier than she ever thought were possible. He makes her feel things she was either completely unaware of feeling, or previously incapable of feeling. She loves him too much to live without him.

"Innocent little Maggie, with a heart of gold. Haven't we had this conversation? Didn't it end with you, bleeding, helpless on the floor?" Karen taunts her, as she moves away from Hal, and towards Maggie. "

Hal begins to struggle, in the wires. He won't let Karen hurt Maggie again, he can't. His eyes flicker to Tom, who is staring at him with the same fear that rests in the eyes of all tied up, before looking back to Maggie. "Don't hurt her. OK? I'm right here, Karen. I'm here. Don't hurt her - Hurt me. I'm right here, Karen." Hal calls out, loudly.

"Oh…." Karen says, as she stops before Maggie. She leans in, a little closer, to Maggie – before she looks up at her and with a malevolent smile, she says, "You wouldn't want me to harm the baby, would you, Hal?"

Maggie stares down at Karen, with a frown and look of absolute confusion on her face, before lowering her eyes to her own stomach. She can feel all the eyes of everyone in the room burning into her.

"Oh, you didn't know, did you?" Karen asks, as her eyes move from Maggie, to Hal. "Neither did you." she comments, after observing Hal's expression.

His face is covered with a mixture of confusion – but only slight confusion. There is more fear on his face, not fear of Maggie being pregnant, but fear of what Karen will do to Maggie now.

Maggie looks up at Tom, who is staring at her with the same expression of concern, worry, and fear that all others of the Second Mass, in the room hold. Her eyes move slowly, from Tom, across Ben and Weaver, to Pope and Tector, who are both looking at her with a genuine look of concern on their faces. And then, her eyes fall to Hal. He hadn't lifted his eyes from hers when the words had passed Karen's lips. He watches Maggie with such intensity, and such love. There is, also, sadness in his gaze. He's so scared of what will happen to her, now. He's fighting to break free, fighting to gain Karen's attention so that she won't harm Maggie.

"Well….." Karen continues, with a smile still spread across her face. "Golden hearted Maggie is pregnant, with your child, Hal Mason." she says, as she raises the stick in the air.

"NO, don't you hurt her! Don't touch her!" Hal protests, loudly, as he tries, desperately and pointlessly, to break the binds on his wrists as he watches, helplessly, as Karen lowers the stick to Maggie's stomach.

The panic in his voice rings through the room, and soaks into Maggie's skin. She's trying to fight the wires that bind her wrists together, but she can't break free. She can't. She's helpless.

Hal's body jerks violently as he tries his hardest to break free of the wires, but he can't. They're too powerful. He'll never break free. Watching her struggle, with no success, and seeing the fear in her eyes, it destroys a part of him.

"I'll talk!" Tom says, loudly.

Tom will tell Karen everything that she needs to know, if she leaves Maggie and the rest of the group alone. He can't let Karen hurt them. They all mean so much to him. He considers them all to be family. But it's too late. Tom's too late – he didn't speak soon enough. And Karen moves too quickly, with her hatred of Maggie, she wasn't listening to Tom anyway.

"And now, she isn't." Karen says, as she presses the stick into Maggie's stomach.

"NO!" Hal yells out, loudly, as he continues to attempt to break the binds.

The pain that surges through Maggie's body is so overwhelmingly strong, she can't fight the gasp that passes her lips – but she's cut off, by the wires which, Karen moves telepathically, bind around her mouth to cut her off. Maggie's gasp, and then her sobs which she can't control, are muffled by the cover over her mouth. The pain remains when the stick is lowered, and she is overcome by pains, and an immediate sickness, in her stomach.

She wants to give up and give in to the pain. As she lowers her eyes slowly to meet Hal's eyes, and only Hal's eyes, she can't control the involuntary tears that slide, so quickly, down her cheeks. And then, the sobs come, and she can't fight them. They're muffled, by the cover, but they're still loud enough for all to hear.

Hal sees in her eyes something that he will never forget, until the day that he has died and even then, it may haunt him beyond his years. He sees such pain, anger, sadness and fear in her eyes – it almost destroys him completely. He feels all that she is feeling, but not to the extent that she does. The look in her eyes, as she loses another child, will haunt the memories of all, members of the Second Mass, in the room.

"I've been waiting….to do this, for a long time, Hal." Karen comments, as she makes her way towards a struggling Hal. She pulls him closer and forces herself on Hal – she kisses him, forcefully, while looking up at a distraught Maggie, with a malicious smile and expression on her features.

Maggie attempts to scream out, at Karen, but her screams are muffled by the wires around her mouth. She watches on, helplessly, as Karen releases Hal. His body, while still bounded by wires, falls unconscious, and he hangs, swinging lifelessly, from the wires.

"Perhaps, now you will talk, Tom Mason?" Karen suggests, as she moves, without any emotion or feelings of remorse or guilt.

This isn't the Karen that they once knew. They've all been aware of that for quite some time. She may have the appearance of a human, but appearances are more than deceiving, and Karen hasn't been human since the harness was placed on her back.

Karen's concentration is momentarily distracted, and disrupted, by a group of rebel skitters who storm the facility in a matter of seconds. The restraints that held all members of the Second Mass are released in Karen's momentary matter of distraction, and they all fall to the ground, free of the restraints. They don't have time to count the rebel skitters, and they only distinguish who is the enemy skitter and who is the rebel by which skitters attack them.

All members of the Second Mass in the room, except for an unconscious Hal, and Maggie, who won't leave his side, stand and join the rebel skitters in the fight. Pope and Tector take on four of the enemy skitters, that are closer to the machine than any other skitters. Lyle and Crazy Lee each take on a skitter each, not far from the machine.

Dai and Anthony, who had attempted to take on Karen, are injured as Karen, effortlessly, throws Dai towards the walls of the facility. He is knocked out, momentarily, by the force of the throw. She backhands Anthony, next, with the staff in her hands. He stumbles backwards, into the ground, and is only momentarily dazed until a skitter jumps on top of him. Before Anthony can react, Weaver shoots the skitter several times in the head, until it slumps, dead, to the side of him.

Ben moves towards a dazed Karen, and pulls the staff from her hands. He throws it to Tom, before Karen can react. Tom catches the stick, and races towards Red-Eye, who is battling with the Overlord. The Overlord has injured Red-Eye, Tom can't assess how badly because he's focusing everything on taking the Overlord out. He intervenes, between the battle, and swipes the legs out from underneath the Overlord, who falls down on to the ground, and before the Overlord can respond and kill Tom, Tom wounds the Overlord, repeatedly, with Karen's staff before, finally, bashing it's skull in with the staff, landing the final and killing blow to the Overlord.

"It's not over, Tom Mason. It'll never be over. And you'll never win." Karen announces, loudly, for all to hear, before she scuttles towards the wall and climbs up it.

Tom looks up at Karen, crawling quickly up the walls before escaping completely, towards Ben, who is kneeling beside a severely wounded Red-Eye. His wounds are bad, now that Tom has the time to take them in. There is a lot of blood, too much blood. They don't have much time, if any, before they must return to the hospital. Karen had mentioned that this was their plan, to pull the best fighters away from the hospital.

Pope, Tector and Anthony volunteer to return to the hospital, and Weaver nods and sends them. He needs Lyle and Lee to stay, to help carry out Dai's body. Anne, who is kneeling by Dai's side, tells the Captain that he does still have a pulse, but it's incredibly weak and that there could, possibly, be severe head injuries, and that they'll have to get him back to the hospital, or back for treatment, as soon as is possible.

Red-Eye stretches out his bloodied hand, towards Tom, who, after a second of hesitation, takes his hand. Ben's spikes light up, and once Red-Eye takes control, he says, "Continue the fight, Professor Mason. We will meet again."

The rebel skitters begin to swarm their master, Red-Eye, to drag his injured and weak body towards safety. There is a mutual understanding between the members of the Second Mass, in the room, and the rebel skitter. They know that they don't have much time before the enemy skitter reinforcements come. Even with the Overlord killed, and with the future military operations on the East Coast already being thrown into chaos, they should be prepared for attacks from enemy skitters in the area, because it's almost certain that Karen will call for reinforcements.

Crazy Lee, Lyle and Weaver prepare the C4 charges, and once done Lyle and Lee lift Dai, who remains unconscious and slightly bloodied, from the floor, and both, equally, assist in carrying him towards the exit of the facility.

"Maggie, we have to go." Anne tells her, as she kneels down beside, a still distraught, Maggie.

Ben and Tom appear by Maggie's side, and both watch her as she, reluctantly, stands from Hal's side. Tom and Ben kneel down, and lift an unconscious Hal into their arms. They follow the path taken by Lee and Lyle, and exit the warehouse.

When they're far enough away, from the warehouse, the C4 is detonated, and the tower that once stood tall is destroyed, with the building and the body of the dead Overlord.

They return, as quickly as possible, towards the hospital which they find to be, in surprise to their thoughts after Karen's revelation about luring the fighters out to kill their civilians, empty of any skitters, mechs or any other aliens. Maggie and Ben carry Hal inside, on a stretcher. As they enter the hospital they pass the remains of fresh blood, and what looks like – a blown up skitter. Lee and Lyle also follow Anne, inside, as they carry Dai in on a stretcher. She leads them to one of the better prepared, and stocked, rooms.

Captain Weaver and Tom find Pope, Tector and Anthony outside – they emerge from the side of the hospital, a little bloodied, but apart from that they appear fine.

"Fish head lured us out into a trap." Pope announces, as he coughs, to clear his throat twice, and continues, as he walks towards Tom and Weaver. "We got here, just as Joseph was blowing some skitter heads off."

"Joseph?" Weaver asks, with a creased forehead.

The last time that he had seen Joseph; he had been in, beyond, bad state. Anne had said he would need time to heal, time before he would walk, easily and without pain, again.

"Yes, Captain." Anthony says. "We came just in time to help him finish of some skitters – we didn't lose anyone. He ushered everyone into an underground storage facility, after checking and securing it. Handed out a few rifles to the more capable civilians, to keep watch, and faced them alone."

Tom nods at Weaver, and steps past the group as he, quickly, makes his way inside, towards Hal. On his way in, however, instead of finding Hal first, he finds Matt.

"Dad! You should've been here. All of these skitters came! And-And Joseph gave me a rifle, and we were shooting all the skitters – " Matt stops, as the enthusiastic grin which had, previously, been on his face falters, slightly, as he takes notice of his dad's pale appearance.

Matt's eyes move past Tom, to behind him – where he finds neither Ben nor Hal.

"Where are Ben and Hal?" Matt asks, as he looks back up to his father.

Tom releases a long, shaky sigh, which he had been holding since Hal had been injured at the warehouse, and kneels down in front of Matt. Tom lifts his hands, to Hal's shoulders, and rests them there, before he says, with a soft and gentle voice, "Ben is fine. Ben's OK….Hal was - Hal was hurt, Matt, at the warehouse. He's going to be OK, though. Anne is taking care of him, now."

Anne looks up, from the doorway, to Matt and Tom, who have just entered. Tom walks behind Matt, with his hands rests on the back of Matt's shoulders. They move slowly, towards Ben, who is staring at Hal's, still, unconscious body.

"I've checked him over. His breathing is normal. His airways are clear. There is nothing to suggest that he's been injured." Anne tells them, as she looks from Maggie to Tom. "The best thing that we can do is let Hal rest; let him recover on his own time." she adds, as she crosses her arms, over her chest.

Anne looks up, at Maggie, who looks reluctant to leave Hal alone. "It's all that we can do, for now. He'll wake up, in his own time." Anne says, with a soft smile, as she begins to walk towards the door.

Maggie wants to believe that, so badly. She has to believe that Hal will wake up, and that he'll be okay, because that is the only thing that is keeping her together, right now, when she is so close to breaking. Without Hal, she doesn't feel complete. It's a feeling that she had never experienced in such depth before Hal, and a feeling she will never experience, in such depth, after him.

She stands, silently, just watching Hal for a moment. He seems, to her, to be at peace. She watches as his chest rises, and falls, softly. He's still here, she reminds herself. He's going to be okay, she convinces herself.

The thought had crossed Maggie's mind, many times, that she might lose Hal. She had lost him before, and feels as though she has only just, really, gotten the _real_ Hal back. The real Hal is her Hal – the strong, brave, sometimes fearless, protective, caring, pure hearted, loving, honest, selfless man that she fell, so irreversibly, for. The thought that she could spend the rest of her life with Hal doesn't scare her, as it might months ago. Spending your life with one single person can absolutely terrify people, but not Maggie, not when that person is Hal Mason. He is a part of her, there is no denying that, and there is no denying that if she were to ever lose him, she would fall to pieces. If she were to lose him, she would not be able to feel for another that which she feels for him.

She won't lose him, she can't lose him – he's going to wake up, and they're going to get through this together, like they always do. They're partners; they'll make it through this together like they've made it through everything else together. And they've been through too much to not make it through this together.

Maggie's thoughts of Hal are interrupted, by her sudden awareness of a hand resting on her upper arm – her eyes lift from Hal, to Lourdes, who she finds is resting her hand, a supporting gesture, on her. She knows what it is like to lose someone that you love. She lost Jamil, not long ago, and is still struggling with his loss, and the loss of her own family.

In a way, Maggie sees that they are going through something similar. They have both lost their family, and have lost people that they have loved. Lourdes smiles at Maggie before, gently, leading her, slowly, from the room.

Maggie turns back, once more, to look at Hal, who has been left, alone, and unconscious still, in the room, before stepping out into the hallway. She pulls away from Lourdes, seconds after standing beside her, and tells her that she needs to go speak to Tector – but she doesn't need to, and she doesn't find Tector. She needs space, and air, and to be alone.

Weaver, who was waiting outside of Hal's room, steps towards Tom, and after a small smile at Anne, who was leaving, with Lourdes to check on Dai, he says, "How's Hal?"

"He hasn't regained consciousness yet. Anne says that he needs time." Tom says, and stops to clear his throat. He continues, with a lower voice, as he asks, "How's Dai?"

Weaver nods, and says, "About the same situation. He's remained unconscious and has some possible injuries to his head, and neck. They've put a neck brace in place, as a precaution. Doctor Glass says that he also needs time."

In the silence, and coldness, of the empty room, Hal's eyes, slowly, flicker before they open, completely. He pulls the blankets off of his body and lifts himself, slowly, upwards, and moves his legs so that they are hanging over the side of the bed. He stares down, with a slightly creased forehead, at the ground beneath his feet. His eyes move around the room, as though he is taking in each and every detail of this unfamiliar setting. He stands, very slowly, from the bed and moves towards the bathroom, which is flickering with a candle, a few feet away from his bed.

He stops, as he stands before the mirror, and examines himself before it. He tilts his head, ever so slightly, to the right, as something moves beneath the skin on his face. He isn't alarmed, or panicked, rather dazed, as he watches a small, black bug crawl out of his eye socket, slowly. Again, he stays in the daze, as he watches the parasite, in the reflection of the mirror, move across his pale cheek. It stops, as it reaches his ear, and then crawls inside his ear. His eyes close, as the parasite moves further, inside his brain.

Hal doesn't have a second to worry, or to wonder, before the parasite takes control, and he stands, no longer dazed, before the mirror, but rather stands with a smile, that plays on his lips before spreading, momentarily, on his face. The smile fades from his lips, and a harder, cold, emotionless expression takes its place. The Overlord, who has now taken control of Hal's brain and body, takes one last, longer look in the mirror at its host, before blowing out the light of the candle and stepping away from the bathroom.

"Captain Weaver," Anthony begins, as he comes across Weaver and Tom on the second level of the hospital. He pauses, and lets out a breath of air, before he says, "You might want to come see this. We've got some visitors."

**A/N: Hi all :) First, I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read this it really means so much. And also those who review, that means so very much, and I'm always happy to read your thoughts on the chapter, and I would be more than okay with it if any of you had any suggestions of what you might like to see, in future chapters, because you are the readers and I want to please you guys, and make sure that you are all still enjoying this.**

**Thanks to the followers and favoriters, and a thanks to my sister who is awesome, it's as simple as that. You let me brainstorm, and help me sort out the good ideas from the bad ones and for that, I am so incredibly grateful. **

**Knowing that you are still reading this, means so very much. I continue to update because, not only do I write for myself, but for you, and the hope that someone out there will enjoy reading my story just as much as I enjoy writing it, and that it can bring happiness, and other emotions, to your lives. Because you are the readers, I wanted to run something by you. I was planning to introduce some new OC's BUT I wanted to check with you guys if that was something you would be okay with. I'm not going to spoil on who these new characters would be, and how they would be involved, but they would be around for a while and could make things a little more interesting (and tense and action packed) I'll tell you that they DEFINITELY are not aliens. NOPE. Not the new aliens, not yet anyway. I don't feel like they fit into my current storyline, and where I know I want it to head. BUT these OC's do. I'm not sure if you all enjoy own characters, so let me know what your thoughts and opinions are - please.**

**Dear Hotchocolate329;  
Hey! It is great to hear from you again. It makes me so happy to see that you are still loving it, and that you are still enjoying reading it. Thank YOU for taking the time to read this, out of your busy life. Knowing that you still read this really means so much. And I hope you still enjoy it after this chapter. Thank you so much :)**

**Dear Anonymous; who posted on chapter 39;  
WOW! Thank YOU so much! It really means so much to see that you love it, and that you recommend it to falling skies fans. That is, really, so touching. Thank you!  
I want you to know that SO MANY of us in Australia are thinking of you all, on the East Coast, at this difficult time and that we are all sending you many, many prayers and thoughts. I hope that you all recover soon and stay safe. :) Things will get better.  
Thank you so much for reading my story. :)**

**Dear Agus; who posted on Chapter 39;  
I'm sorry for any confusion that I have caused you, and any other readers. Maggie DID love Reece, a long time ago. She was suffering in that chapter because it was surreal, losing him, and it reminded her of all the many, many others that she has lost, and it was just a little shaking. He helped her through a difficult time - he tried to help her, anyway. WOW, that seriously means so much. The power of internet - you're in Argentina, wow! I'm so happy to hear that love this story. It really means a lot to hear that, and to hear that you think that I'm a good writer - Honestly, every time that I post on here, each chapter, I'm so incredibly nervous about it, and so thanks so much for the confidence boost, and for your kind, kind words. You didn't have any grammatical mistakes. Thanks so much :)**

**Dear Guest Reviewer, who posted as Guest on chapter 39;  
Thank you so very much! It really means a lot to see that you think it's another great chapter. I don't want to spoil too much, but I'll say that there's a very high possibility that Henry will come back and make Maggie better. No, you don't sound sappy at all! He would be a like another boy in the Mason family. Thanks so much, I'm so happy to hear that you loved it, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**I want to apologise for any grammatical errors that I might make in this chapter, or any other chapter. I'm really sorry - I check over them, over and over again but I always miss something. So, if you find any, please PM me and let me know so that I can fix it.**

**Also, I wanted to say that my thoughts, and prayers are with all of you whose lives have been affected by Sandy. I can't understand, at all, what you are going through at this difficult time, but it will get better. You're all strong, and you'll make it through this stronger. My constant thoughts and prayers are with you. You'll make it through this. I hope you all stay safe x**


	41. My love won't wreck it all

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline.**

* * *

Tom and Weaver follow Anthony, quickly, down towards the front of the hospital. As they step out, through the front doors, and take a step down onto the concrete stairs, the visitors that Anthony had told them about come into view.

There are two trucks – Humvees, all the same light brown colour, to be exact. In front of the Humvees, which are packed with many thick bags, wire, and a machine gun on the top of each truck, stands five men, four of the five are holding their rifles, firmly, in their hands at the members of the Second Mass, who are holding their weapons at them.

These men are wearing the same, dark green camouflage uniforms, with the same brand of rifles slung over their shoulders. They all appear, except for one, to be somewhere between thirty and thirty five years of age. That is, however, just an assumption made by Weaver, as he casts his eyes over them.

The soldier standing at the front of the group, with thick, brushed back, light brown hair that passes his ears in length, doesn't hold his rifle in his hands; it rests, slung over his shoulder. Two more weapons can be seen, resting in his shoulder holster that sits on top of his uniform. His eyes, which are deep green, mixed with specks of light blue, move over the members of the Second Mass.

He steps forward, past the soldiers towards him, and says, "Is this the Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment?"

"That depends entirely on who is asking." Pope replies, quickly, before Weaver does, as he eyes off the men suspiciously.

The Second Mass hasn't had fond experiences with civilians, soldiers, and members of other survival groups. Charleston is an example of that.

The man looks at Pope, and says, "First Sergeant Logan Hatchet, of the United States Marine Corps."

"Captain Daniel Weaver – First in command," Weaver says, as he steps forward, closer to the men. "This here..." he continues, as he gestures towards Tom. "Is my Second in Command, Tom Mason."

"Professor Tom Mason?" Logan questions, as his eyes, quickly, flicker over Tom. He says, with the smallest smile playing on his lips, "We've heard a bit 'bout you, Tom Mason."

"Really?" Tom asks, tilting his head slightly sideways. "Well, we've heard nothing about you. Why don't you get your guys to lower their weapons, from our guys, and we can have this conversation inside?" Tom adds, as he looks from Logan to Weaver beside him, who nods, ever so slightly.

The four men standing behind Logan lower their weapons, slowly, but before Tom continues, Logan speaks. "This here…." Logan begins, as he moves to the man nearest to him. He's a tall, skinny, but well built, man with short, blonde hair and green eyes, identical to Logan's. He appears to be the youngest of the men, in his mid to late twenties. "Is Staff Sergeant, Isaac Hatchet."

Logan moves down, towards the next man, who is taller than Isaac but shorter than Logan. His dark brown hair is short, and pushed back off of his face. Logan continues, loudly, "Staff Sergeant Conor Taberski."

"Gunnery Sergeant Broderick Sweeney," Logan says, as he indicates to the man, who had lowered his rifle first. He stands, with thick, slightly curled, black hair that almost reaches his shoulders. His eyes are that of a deep, dark brown. A thick, faded scar runs above his right eyebrow.

"And….this here is Master Sergeant Ronald Wolfram." he says, as he indicates towards the man standing closest to him. A tall, well-built man, with short, light brown hair, and dark blue eyes.

"We are all United States Marines, and therefore we will be addressed appropriately, Tom Mason." Logan says, calmly, as he looks from Tom to Captain Weaver.

"What business do you have with the Second Mass, First Sergeant Hatchet?" Weaver asks. He takes a step closer towards the men, as he does he casts a quick look over those of the Second Mass, who have, reluctantly, lowered their weapons.

"Would you happen to know the whereabouts of Sergeant Joseph Thatcher?" Logan questions.

"If we did, I don't understand why it is of any concern to you, First Sergeant Hatchet?" Tom asks, as he takes a step closer towards Logan.

"We didn't plan to come down here, Tom Mason," The man, who was identified as Gunnery Sergeant Broderick Sweeney, announces, as he steps forward, beside Logan. They hear, now, that he is Scottish, as he speaks. His accent rings through the air.

"We were moving down, through Virginia an' came across a young lad, in a car shop. It'd be mighty helpful, if you could tell us the whereabouts of Joseph?" Broderick says, as he watches Logan move towards the back of the Humvee.

Tom nods, and says, "You've found Henry?" he asks.

"Aye, we have." Broderick replies. "His father's here?" he questions.

"Yes, he is, Gunnery Sergeant Sweeney." Weaver says, he stops to let out a small sigh, and continues, "Is that all you've come here for, First Sergeant Hatchet?"

"Yes, and no, Captain." Logan answers, as he returns from the back of the Humvee with a small, dirtied and slightly bloodied, boy in his arms, and a dark green back pack hanging over his shoulder.

"Would you follow me inside, First Sergeant Hatchet? Doctor Glass will need to give Henry a look over." Weaver says, as he waits for Logan to join his side.

"Perhaps, we could continue this conversation, Captain?" Logan questions, as he follows Weaver inside.

Weaver nods, in agreement, and says, "This way, First Sergeant."

Maggie had, after the cool air didn't calm her, opted for a cold shower instead. She had stood, shivering slightly, as the cold water had fallen against her, otherwise hot, skin. It had given her a moment of momentary relief from the day that had passed them by. The night would bring her no relief, and no solace, not without Hal.

She had stood in the shower, even once the water had stopped, shivering, and waiting. She wasn't exactly sure what she had been waiting for.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed her by before she had pulled herself together – she didn't have the time, or energy, at the current moment, to think about what had happened, what could have been and what she had lost.

Maggie convinced herself, several times, as she'd moved towards Hal's bedroom that he'd be okay. That she'd find him, in the room, breathing still. He'd be okay, she continued to tell herself. Hal was always okay. This time would be no exception.

Her fingers fall down to the door handle, and after a second of hesitation, she takes in a deep breath of cool air and opens the door. She finds Hal, much to her surprise, sitting up, on the edge of the bed. He's pulling on his shoes, and doesn't looking up at the sound of the door opening.

"Hal…." she says, almost gasping with relief, as she quickly moves towards him. "How are you feeling?" she asks, as he watches Hal lift his head, and eyes, to meet her gaze.

Her voice is a little shaky as she speaks because, for some odd reason, she's not only happy to see Hal but she's also nervous. She's nervous about his well-being, his reaction to all that happened.

"I'm feeling better, thanks." he replies, with a small smile.

When Maggie reaches Hal's bedside, she wraps her arms around his neck, as gently as she can, as she lets out a deep breath of air. "You had…us all worried, Hal." she says, so very softly, in his ear.

"I'm going to be fine." he answers, also with a soft voice, as he, slowly, lifts his hands to her back.

They hold each other, silently, for a moment, until Maggie breaks it – by pulling away. She is incredibly relieved to have Hal back – he's okay. She knew that he would be. He looks pale, weak and exhausted. He needs to rest, he shouldn't be going anywhere.

"You shouldn't be up. You need to rest." she tells him, as she keeps her eyes on him.

Still holding her gaze, Hal says, "I'm feeling good, Maggie. I don't need to rest."

"Let me go get Lourdes, or Anne, to check you out?" Maggie suggests, as she casts a quick look over Hal.

Hal nods, and answers with a soft, low voice, "Ok."

A small frown falls on Maggie's features, as she lowers her head, slightly, and walks towards the door, of Hal's room. She decides that Hal's silence, about all that happened at the warehouse, is due to his weakness, and current state. She finds Lourdes, stepping out of a nearby corridor and informs her that Hal has woken.

She smiles at Maggie, and tells her that she will check him out, straight away. Maggie nods, and tells Lourdes she'll be back, after she finds Tom, Ben and Matt, and tells them of the good news.

Maggie checks, but does not find Tom, Ben or Matt on the second floor of the hospital. On the first floor, of the hospital, she finds Tom, stepping out of one of the hospital rooms. She moves towards him, and is almost at the doorway of the room, before he notices her. He opens his mouth, like he might speak, but doesn't say anything, as he watches Maggie's eyes fall down to the boy in the room. At first, he sees no reaction on her face. That is, until, the boy is settled down onto the edge of a bed, by an unfamiliar man.

"You're OK now, Henry. You're safe." Anne's voice echoes from the room, and into the hallway.

Henry – they found her Henry. But he isn't her Henry. By blood, he is her son, but she didn't raise him. He has a father, and a mother. He isn't hers.

"Maggie…." Tom says, softly, as he steps after Maggie who had, at the sight of Henry, almost frozen entirely before she'd pulled herself together and begun walking towards the nearest exit.

She moves, quickly, towards any exit that her eyes fall upon. She needs to be outside – to find air, space, shelter, solace. She needs to breathe, again, properly. She needs to find some sort of calm.

Tom catches up, to Maggie, eventually, and steps so that he's standing in front of her. He is a little surprised to find that she is almost emotionless. There is a flicker of something in her eyes, that he can't read, and there are no other emotions on her face or in her eyes that indicate what she may be feeling.

He wants to help her, he's worried about her – so is Anne. Anne had told Tom she'd try to talk to Maggie sooner, rather than later, to help her to deal with her loss.

Tom isn't quite sure how to deal with what Maggie is going through, and what Hal is going through. He cares for her, greatly, but isn't sure how to comfort her. And, by her hardened expression, he's not entirely sure she wants to be comforted, by anyone. She's strong, he knows that. She's been through a great deal for such a young person – and yet, she's come out on the other side, fighting, and stronger because of it.

But, there's only so much that a person can, truly, take before it breaks them. There's only so much that it can weigh you down until you can't go on any further.

"Maggie…." he says her name, softer this time, as he looks down at her with warm, and gentle, eyes.

She looks up at him and says, quickly, "I was – Hal's awake….upstairs. Lourdes is with him now."

"That's great." he says, with a small smile of relief. "Are you okay, Maggie?" Tom asks.

Maggie takes a step away from Tom, as she says, "I just – I need air."

She moves quickly, outside – anywhere without walls surrounding her. She finds herself, on the roof, as she always does. The stars have fallen, in the sky, and everything already seems slightly calmer up here, alone, unconfined and unrestricted. She moves, towards the ledge of the hospital, and lets her fingers fall to the concrete ledge. She rests them there, as she closes her eyes. She wants to feel free, but she needs to feel something underneath her hands – something stable, that will reassure her that she won't fall.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me." Tector, who had already been on the roof, tells Maggie.

Lourdes had found him, leaving the cafeteria, and asked how his conversation with Maggie had gone. Once he'd told her he hadn't seen Maggie, since the warehouse, she'd told him that Maggie had said she needed to talk to him. And so, he had searched, until he had found the place he knew that she would eventually come.

His voice doesn't startle her, and she doesn't open her eyes to acknowledge him. She doesn't respond to his question and she doesn't give any indication that she heard him. Her eyes stay closed as she attempts to find some calm, some peace, or some flicker of life within herself – but she can't.

She can't find the light, she can't find anything but the darkness, and she doesn't want that. She won't let the darkness back in. Hal's okay, she reminds herself. Hal is alive. And he's well. And he's not leaving you. He promised, she repeats in her head several times, as she remembers Hal's promise to never leave her. She will hold him to those words, because she could never let him go.

"You alright?" Tector asks, as he steps, slowly, towards where Maggie is standing, before the ledge.

Again, she doesn't answer. Not because she doesn't want to, but because she doesn't have an answer for his questions, or his words. She doesn't have the answers for a lot of questions, which run through her mind constantly.

"You know….Maggie…." he says, softer, now.

She can hear Tector's voice, louder, now, and guesses he is only a few feet away. Her eyes open, slowly, as she turns, slightly to the left, to look at Tector. She was right; he is only a few feet away. He's watching her, intently and with a concern expression painted on his face, as he scratches at the side of his head.

"I'm sorry, 'bout what happened….today. And, uh….I think that…." Tector stops, briefly, to take in a small breath of air. "I think….You should see Doctor Glass….Before all of this, my girl-"

"I don't want to talk about it, Tector. OK? I don't want to talk at all. I just want to be….alone." Maggie replies, as she holds Tector's gaze, but it's only briefly because she, very quickly, looks away.

"OK." he answers, nodding, as he lowers his head slightly. "I, uh….Pretend I'm not here. Pretend that you're alone. But….I'm not leaving you alone." he adds, as he moves so that he's standing closer beside her.

"Hal," Tom says, with a smile of relief on his face, as he steps inside Hal's bedroom.

Hal is sitting on the edge of the bed, silently, looking at a spot on the floor. Hal looks up at him, and gives him a small smile. "Lourdes said that I'm fine." he tells Tom, as he stands from the bed.

"You're sure you don't need your rest?" Tom questions, as he takes a few more steps towards Hal.

Once Tom is standing in front of Hal, he embraces him, so tightly. "I thought we'd lost you. You had us all worried." Tom mutters, as he finally breaks the embrace.

"Lourdes said that I'm fine, that I'm good." Hal says, as he looks back up at Tom.

Tom nods, and as the smile falters from his face, he scratches the side of his head before looking back down on to Hal, who, oddly, stays silent. Tom would've expected Hal to ask for Maggie, or ask about Dai, but he brushes it off as Hal being tired, and so he brings it up.

"Dai hasn't woken yet. Anne has hopes that he'll wake soon." Tom tells him, softly.

Hal and Dai had always been close. They were like brothers –always having the others backs, in and out of battle, and always being there for each other.

Hal nods, at this news, and replies, "Good."

A small frown falls onto Tom's features, as he considers the idea that whatever Karen did to his son, the unconscious state that she put him in, may have affected his memory.

"Hal….You do remember, what happened tonight, don't you?" Tom asks, as he keeps his eyes on his son, watching him for any signs that he might not be as okay as he claims to be.

"I do, although, I don't remember all of it clearly." Hal answers, as his eyes remain, unwavering, on Tom's.

Tom nods, and coughs to clear his throat, once, before he says, "You do remember…Maggie…."

Hal nods, again, and says, "Yes, I do."

"You want to talk about it?" Tom suggests, as he continues to watch Hal with the same concern as earlier.

"No I don't, thanks, Dad." Hal replies, shaking his head as he speaks. "I just – I'm going to go and find Maggie. Is that fine with you?"

"Sure. I'll come by later. And – Hal, if you want to talk about it…." Tom begins, as he watches Hal moving towards the door.

Hal continues to move towards the door, as he says, "Thanks."

Tom's voice is lower, as he says, "Oh, Hal – there's something, I think that you should be aware of, before you find Maggie."

"What is that?" he turns around, slowly, to face Tom.

Tom says, softly, "They found Henry. He's alive."

"I am pleased to see that the transition was successful, Master. And, you've picked an excellent host. You're holding the perfect position inside the resistance group." Karen comments, as she approaches Hal's figure.

She had found him, five miles away from the hospital. She knew that if her Master was successful, this would be where she would find him. He had stood, silently, in a clearing of the forest, waiting for her. He knew that she would come.

"It will do, for now." he answers, as he takes a step towards Karen. "The strategies you used, against the host, Hal Mason, now that I occupy his mind, and body, have proven to be a waste of our time and resources. There is nothing, in his mind, to show that he held any information or data of the rebel skitters."

"Ben Mason will hold the answers that Hal does not. What are you plans, Master, and how can I assist? Will you be leading an attack on the humans?" Karen questions, with a smile, as she moves closer towards Hal Mason's body.

"No." he answers, simply, as a smile plays on his lips, "I will be using one of the human tactics, against them. From the histories, I have gathered that the tactic divide and conquer was successful."

"You will divide and conquer them, Master?" Karen questions.

"Not quite." he tells her. "I will allow the humans to gain a false sense of safety while I gather information on their weaponry, battle tactics and plans. All information that could prove to be valuable. Then, we will divide and conquer them."

Still with a smile on her face, Karen asks, "How may I be of assistance, Master?"

A heavy heart beat, pounding, only a few feet away alerts the two of them that they are not as alone as they had assumed they were.

"When you are needed, you will know, that time is not now." he replies, with a lower voice, as he turns in the direction of sounds that he had, first, been ignorant to but now could hear them clearly.

Karen disappears, as she follows her Master's orders, and returns down the same path that she followed.

Hal moves, so very slowly, towards the direction of the heartbeat. It becomes louder, as he turns towards the west. He stops moving as he finds the watcher – a dark haired man, with a short beard and slightly messy hair. With the memories of his host, the Overlord matches this man to a name, and speaks it.

"Billy?" he speaks, with a louder voice, as he steps towards the man.

Billy replies, with a quick, soft and shaky voice, "I didn't see anything. I didn't hear – I was walking."

The smallest smile appears on Hal's face, as he walks towards the man, and says, "Is that so?"

"It's good to see you back, Hal. It's-It's good." Billy stutters, as he takes a step away from Hal.

He doesn't quite understand what he heard, and who Hal was talking to, but there was something, extremely, off about it. He was talking about dividing and conquering the humans – they are the humans. He recognised the girl, he doesn't know her name but he recognises her – they'd found her, not too long ago, in the bush, almost dead.

"Hal?" Ben, who had heard from a few men on watch, that they'd seen Hal walk off into the forest, calls out as he trudges through the muddy ground, and greenery, towards where he thinks Hal might have walked of to.

Billy's head snaps upwards, towards the direction in which the voice came from. Hal's head also turns, in that direction, but it is only for a brief second. He turns; back to look at Billy, with hollow, dark, empty eyes as he steps towards him.

"It is so unfortunate that you have to die, Billy." Hal whispers, into Billy's ear, as he covers Billy's mouth with one hand, and holds him in place, with his left hand around his neck.

Billy struggles under Hal's grip, as the voice, echoing Hal's name, comes closer towards them. If he could only break free, momentarily, then he would be safe.

"Hal?" Ben calls out, much louder this time, as he continues to move through the thick trees, and bushes.

Hal continues, with a darker voice, "From the memories, I have identified that you have siblings to support. You are so young; you have your whole life ahead of you – Oh, no, that's wrong. You don't. I'm taking your life, and all other human lives."

Billy continues to struggle, much more, under Hal's strong grasp. He finds that despite how hard he struggles, how hard he fights, he cannot break free.

Ben, who has just come out to a small clearing, stops as he hears something – to his left. A voice, perhaps, he considers, and decides to follow where he believes the voice came from.

"Hal?" Ben calls out, much louder than any of the previous times, as he continues to make his way towards where he believes he heard the voice.

Hal leans in, a little closer to Billy, and says these words into his ear, "Think of this as a present, Billy. This way, you will not suffer, as terribly as the rest of them will."

Hal's hands fasten, tightly, around Billy's neck, before, in a sharp movement, he twists the human's neck, so far and so unnaturally, that his neck snaps, and he dies, instantly.

"Ben," Hal says, startling Ben, as he steps out of a section of the forest that Ben was, in seconds, about to enter.

Hal appears fine, to Ben. He gives him a small smile, as he steps down, towards Ben.

"Hal, what are you doing here? Is there someone out here?"

"No, brother, there isn't. Has something happened?" Hal questions, as he raises his hand to the back of Ben's neck, and, slyly, ushers him away from the forest.

Once they are a secure distance away from the forest, and the body, Hal drops his hand from Ben's neck.

Ben shakes his head, as they continue to move towards the hospital, "No. Dad's worried about you. I'm worried. You should be resting."

"I'm going to be fine, Ben." Hal answers, quickly.

"I know that, Dad doesn't believe it. He worries about us, always. I just….Dad doesn't think that this is the best place for you to be, right now." Ben comments, as he turns to face Hal.

"Where does he think that I should be, if it isn't outside?" Hal asks, as he still continues to wear an unreadable expression.

"With Maggie…." Ben answers, after a moment of hesitation.

Ben can't, in any way, begin to understand what Maggie is feeling, and going through, right now. And he can't begin to feel what Hal is going through. He's not entirely sure how, or if, he can help either of them. But they should be together, to deal with this. Hal shouldn't be out here, alone, especially when he's not at his strongest. He should be inside, with Maggie.

Hal asks, quietly, "Do you know where she is?"

"Yep." Ben nods, as the two of them begin walking back towards the hospital. "Tector dropped her off, at her room, an hour ago."

As Ben and Hal come nearer, to the hospital, Hal looks up at trucks, which are still stationed before the hospital. He frowns slightly, and turns to Ben, who has understood that he is confused, and says, "These five US marines stopped by, with Henry – They're in talks with Weaver. Well, one of them is. The other four are eating, resting. I don't know. He's been in there for a while."

Hal nods, but otherwise, stays silent as they enter the hospital doors. His eyes scan over those in the room, the weapons that they are holding and any other details that could prove to be useful later on.

Reinforcements, he thinks, as he moves with Ben inside. The thought crosses his mind as to why they would need reinforcements – for whatever reason, he will surely find out. Just as, he will surely learn, in time, the location, whereabouts and involvement of the skitters involved with the Second Mass. He will learn this through Ben Mason.

"Ben…" Hal begins, as he continues to move, beside Ben, down the hallways.

"Yep?" Ben asks, as he turns, side on, to look at his brother.

"I didn't want to worry Dad, with this." Hal begins, as he turns to look at Ben.

"Worry him with what?" Ben asks, pausing, as a slightly worried look falls onto his own features.

Hal answers, softly and slowly, "My memory is…I'm forgetting parts, from the attack. If you have the time, tomorrow, could we talk about it? I don't remember….most of it."

"See, your memories failing you already, old man." Ben jokes, with a small smile on his face.

He watches, curiously, as it seems to take Hal a moment to remember their joke. A smile, a small one, spreads on to his brother's tired face.

"I suppose that it is." Hal answers. "Could we talk about those parts I don't remember, after I blacked out?" he adds.

Ben nods, as he stops outside one of the hospital doors on the corridor. "Yep."

The smile disappears from Hal's face, slowly, as he says, "Thanks, Ben. Good night."

"Night," Ben says, with a smile, as he leaves Hal, standing, outside of Maggie's room.

Hal moves towards the door, slowly, before turning the handle and pressing open the door. There are no lights, except a candle flickering beside the bed, that he finds Maggie lying on. She has her back to the door, but turns around to face him as he shuts the door behind him.

"Hi," Hal says, as he steps, slowly, towards the bed.

With him not being entirely sure how to continue, with this, the Overlord searches through Hal's memories and comes across one of his host, and the woman, he had learnt from his hosts memory is Margaret, before him, lying beside each other in bed. He isn't sure if this is the appropriate situation to be lying beside her, but he doesn't want to draw suspicion to his host, and so he moves closer towards the bed.

"Hey, uh….I'm sorry, I didn't come back." she says, to Hal, as she watches him take a seat down on the bed.

He hesitates, briefly, before lying down, on his back, beside Maggie. He watches her as she pushes her long hair behind her ears, and lets out a small breath of air.

She lifts her gaze to meet his, finally, and asks, "How are you feeling?"

"Good. I should be fine." he replies, as he watches Maggie.

After holding her gaze for a moment, he asks, as casually as he can, "How are you feeling?"

"Better, now." she answers, softly, as she shifts towards Hal, in bed, and rests her head on his chest.

While being in a human's body does limit his powers, his senses are still heightened, and he can hear her heart beating. He isn't tired, but he can feel that she is. She's on the point of exhaustion, and if she were to fall unresponsive, that would, surely, be a waste of his time in gaining the information that he needs.

"You are tired. You should rest." he tells her, as he closes his own eyes.

It doesn't take the human very long to fall asleep, he observes, as he detaches himself from her arms, and moves towards the small room, a few feet away. Once inside, he removes the long, black garment from the top of his body, and turns his back towards the mirror. Then, he cranes the host's neck, so that he can better observe its back.

The harness has been removed, and yet the human continued to live. He notices that the remains of the harness stop – they are two short than what harnesses are comprised of. Where the last two spikes should be, there are two, small, slightly bloodied holes that have been removed and should have healed – but they haven't. Instead, it looks like they are facing the beginnings of what could, potentially be, a dangerous infection.

This doesn't bother the Overlord, as he will only have used of this human's body for a short while, and then, when the body begins to become sickly, before it dies, he will transfer into another. What does, however, gain his attention is how they managed to detach it from his body. He will learn this in time.

"Tom…." Weaver says, with a sigh, as he looks up at Tom, who is standing in the door way of his bedroom.

After his meeting with Logan, Weaver had looked for Tom but after failing to find him, he'd retired to his room. Tom steps through the door, and closes it behind him. He takes a few steps towards Weaver, before he says, "What did they want?"

Weaver sighs, before he says, "Logan believes that it would be for the best if we were to join them, in the battle against the aliens."

"What do you think?" Tom asks, as he scratches at the side of his cheek.

Weaver hesitates, before he tells Tom, "They have a lot of weapons, Tom, and a lot of skill. I think we'd be fools not to except their offer."

"It's never worked out with any outsiders, before. Especially military outsiders – Charleston is an example of that, Dan. What do we need them for, anyway? The Overlord is dead. All military operations, on the East Coast have been thrown into complete chaos." Tom says, as he steps, closer, towards Weaver.

"That's why we need them, Tom. Chaos is never good, especially when it's coming from the enemy." Weaver replies, quickly, as he holds Tom's gaze.

Tom nods, as he contemplates Weaver's words. Then, he says, "What if they cause chaos?"

"They won't. I don't believe that they will. The fish head is dead, Tom, but Karen isn't. She's different to the other harnessed children. She holds more power. She'll come back for us, Tom. We have to be prepared for when she is." Weaver answers, he watches as Tom stays silent.

When he finally speaks, his voice is a little lower, as he says, "It's your call, Dan. But – I don't trust them. We've had no sign, and no information, of them until now."

Ben, who had laid, restless for over an hour, opens his eyes to the sound of knocking on his door. He sits up, in bed, in the empty room that he normally shares with Matt, but Matt was sleeping in his friend, Benjamin's room, tonight. The knocking on the door becomes a little louder, and Ben calls out, "I'm coming," as he moves towards the door.

He opens it to find Hal, standing before him, with a small smile on his face. "Hi, Ben." he says.

"Uh…Hi, Hal. Everything alright?" Ben asks, as he scratches at the side of his head.

Hal nods, "Can I come in?" he asks.

"Yep, sure. What's up?" He asks, as he steps to the side to allow Hal to enter his room.

Ben scratches at the side of his head as he watches his brother's eyes move over the room. When they, eventually, fall upon Ben, Hal says, "The mission."

"Sure. What parts of it?" Ben asks, as he closes the door behind him.

Hal presses his lips together, tightly, briefly, and scratches at the side of his head, as he had watched Ben do seconds earlier, before he speaks, "When did I…I don't….My recollection cuts of, from after Karen…"

"Oh, OK." Ben replies, as he steps towards the bed he sleeps him.

He sits down, on the edge of it, and waits for Hal to sit down beside him. Once he is seated, Hal lifts his eyes to look up at Ben, who says, "Red-Eye stormed in, with the other rebel skitters. We joined them in attacking the skitters, and the Overlord."

"What happened to the skitters – the rebel skitters?"

"I, uh…." Ben begins, but stops as he draws in a sharp breath of air.

Honestly, he had no idea of what happened to the rebel skitters, mainly Red-Eye. But, Red-Eye had told him that he would see him again, and Ben had a feeling that they would see each other again.

Ben says, with a much softer voice, "I don't know, Hal. I'm not sure. We left, as soon as we could."

"Would you tell me about them?" Hal asks, softly.

"About who?" Ben questions, with a slight frown on his features.

He hesitates, for a moment, as he searches through any memories in Hal Mason's mind which might contain information or events relating to the skitters. When he finally speaks, he looks up at Ben and says, "Red-Eye, and the ones that are called the 'rebel' skitters."

Still with a frown on his face, Ben asks, "You want to know about – Why the sudden interest, Hal?"

Hal holds Ben's gaze, as he says, "I've been, uh, curious about them – since they controlled me. I've been ignorant, Ben. Would you tell me about them?"

"You're sure you want to know, Hal? I thought you would be the last person who would want to know." Ben comments, as he still continues to hold a small frown on his face.

Hal has, as far as Ben can remember, never been interested in anything about the skitters except for how to kill them.

"I want to be able to differentiate between the rebel skitters, and those that aren't. Will you tell me about them, Ben, or not?" Hal says, quickly.

"Okay," Ben nods, finally agreeing.

He'll tell Hal anything that he wants to know, as much as he knows, about the rebel skitters. If this is Hal's way of coping with what he has been through, recently, and what he is currently going through, Ben will help him. Ben will, always, help his brothers, however he can.

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who continues to read this story. It really means so very much, and I don't think I can thank you enough, I'll try to though. Thank you to those of you who review, favorite or follow. Thanks to my lovely, intelligent sister who helps me to determine the good ideas from the bad.**

**I'm a little nervous, as always, about adding another chapter. So, feel free to let me know what you think of it, and of the OC's - and if it's a negative response, I can always write them out. I want to make you guys happy. Again, as always, I am deeply sorry for any grammatical errors.**

**Dear Guest Reviewer, who posted as Guest on chapter 40;  
It does seem like they're going in circles, but I promise that there IS a way out, and they'll find it soon. Things will get better, and stay better, soon enough, I can tell you that much. She will be very devasted, and depressed, and with Hal being possessed - that's only going to worsen things, and as you said add up to the complexity of her inner tragedies. BUT I can promise you that the future holds something great for her, and for her and Hal. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and for reviewing. Thanks!**

**I have a question for any reader, who could answer this. I'm in a little bit of a dilemma - with this chapter, I would have updated over 50 documents to the doc manager (I have other stories, and that's why the total is 50) and when I tried to upload a different chapter to document manager it told me I had reached the capacity, and to turn them into chapters? I'm really confused, so any help would be greatly, greatly appreciated.**

**My thoughts and prayers are with those of you who have been affected by the tragedy of Sandy. You are all strong, and brave and fighters, and will make it through this tough time, coming out stronger on the other side. We are all thinking of you, in Australia, and sending you positive vibes, thoughts and prayers. Stay safe xx**


	42. Allow me to fall

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline.**

* * *

Ben talks to Hal, he tells him as much information about the rebel skitters and Red-Eye as seems relevant, until the early morning, when he feels his eyelids closing, slowly, and he knows that sleep is coming shortly. He tells Hal that if he has any more questions, that they should talk tomorrow.

"Thanks, Ben." Hal says, with a small smile, as he stands in the doorway. He casts one, last look, over Ben, who has crawled back into bed, before he steps through the open door and closes it behind him.

He turns around, quickly, to face a man, whom he quickly registers and recognises as Doctor Roger Kadar. From the host's memory, he is able to gather the information that _this_ here is the human who invented the procedure to remove the harness.

Roger moves towards him, with a small smile, and as he readjusts the glasses that sit on his nose, he says, "Mr- Hal. How are you feeling?"

"Good, thanks, Roger." Hal replies quickly, as he moves, a little stiffly, towards the man, who eyes him off as he does.

Roger nods, quickly, as he says, "And your back – the spikes, may I take a look?"

"They are healing well. There are no signs of infection. Lourdes has repeatedly stated so." he answers, quickly, while maintaining Roger's curious gaze.

"May I take a look?" Roger asks, hopefully and curiously.

"I see no reason for that, Roger." Hal replies.

"Ah, I see…My apologies…." Roger mutters, as he lowers his gaze slightly. "And, when would you like to move on with the rest of the procedure? I was planning, two weeks-"

Hal tilts his head, slightly to the left, as he says, "Perhaps when things become calm. Doctor Kadar, is that acceptable to you?"

"Yes, yes, of course, Hal. I'll –Whenever you are ready. I'll be here to help, Hal. I am – I am so very pleased with the outcome, of the operation." Roger tells him, as he lifts his hand to Hal's shoulder and squeezes it – an attempt at a reassuring, friendly gesture. "I'll see you, in a few days, to see how you're healing. I am beyond pleased, so far, Hal."

A small smile falls onto Hal's lips, as he begins to walk away from the doctor, "So am I, Roger." he calls back, before turning his back on the man completely.

The weakness of the humans, he believes, is their constant care and compassion of others. They are almost completely absorbed with caring for other humans. That is, one of their many, faults, and it will be a simple task to use that fault against them.

Joseph wakes as the sun is rising, and setting a soft orange light in his room. For a moment, he considers the idea that he has died, as he doesn't recall why or how he wound up in a hospital bed, yet again. He notices that neither his arms, nor his legs, are chained to the bed, as they have been in the past, and he takes this as a good sign.

He also notices that the seven pieces of string, which are frayed, still remain on his wrist, as does the silver watch. He does not care about them nearly as much as he does of the red fragment of clothing, which still remains tied around his wrist. He breathes out a tiny sigh of relief at the sight of it.

A small, rough, dry cough passes his dry lips, as he re-opens his, previously, blurry eyes. He finds, in the corner of the room, the man he recognises as Pope – the man who let him go, to find Henry. And then he thinks of Henry. He needs to find Henry. He shouldn't be here. They _have_ to find his son.

Joseph sits up, quickly and without a thought to his injuries, in his bed. His brown creases, and a slight grimace falls onto his pale, worn expression as his eyes flicker around the room.

"Don't think you want to be doing that, Joseph." Pope comments, from the armchair that he remains seated in.

Even if Joseph had wanted to, with his injuries, he wouldn't be able to get very far. He needs time, to rest. The wounds, from the skitters, are deep, Pope had overheard Anne saying.

"Thatch." Joseph corrects Pope, as he pushes back his long, black hair from his face.

He scratches at his beard as his eyes take in each detail of the room. His eyes fall down on to Pope, who also has a creased forehead.

"What my pal's called me." Joseph tells him, as he pulls himself to the side of his bed, and very slowly, swings his legs over the side of the bed.

"Me and you, we're pal's?" Pope asks, with a deeper frown, as he continues to keep his gaze on Joseph.

"Mmm…." Joseph mumbles, as he scratches at a spot underneath his right eye. "Seems to me you're the only insane one, in this place….Seems to me, no one else likes me…" he adds, as his eyes, quickly, dart around the room in search for his boots.

He finds them at the end of his bed, and not far from that, on a table, rests his long, black coat, and gloves.

A small laugh passes Pope's lips, at Joseph's words, and he says, "Well, ain't that the crazy-ass pot, calling the kettle black."

"I owe you a drink, love. Or many drinks…" Joseph mutters, softly, as he continues to stare at his clothes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Pope asks, as he observes Joseph's gaze on his clothes.

Pope stands from the armchair, and steps towards a disheveled and exhausted looking Joseph. He wonders what Joseph must have been through, to become the person that he is today; constantly on edge, a little loopy, and extremely wary of, and unable to trust, others.

Joseph avoids Pope's eyes, as he pushes the blankets from his body, he says, "Going to find my boy."

"Yeah, 'cause that turned out so well, last time." Pope comments, as he looks down at Joseph, who has finished removing the blankets from his body.

He sits there, staring silently, at the bandages that cover his, besides from the many, many scars and tattoos, bare chest. Joseph's fingers fall down to the bandage around his lower chest, and he closes his eyes as the painful recognition of how he received this, and that a life was cost because of him. Another life was taken, and that guilt will forever remain on Joseph's shoulders. He couldn't shift the weight, not if he wanted to – and he doesn't want to. Joseph doesn't want to lift that guilt, because the guilt keeps him human, it, painfully, reminds him that he must continue with this battle. He must contribute to the battle, and assist in the war against the enemy. If it weren't for the guilt, it's likely he would have given in a long time ago.

"Uh….The boy died?" Joseph asks, as he meets Pope's direct gaze.

Pope nods, as he keeps his jaw tightly together. He wasn't overly fond of Reece – that's an understatement. Reece had a way of getting underneath someone's skin, even if you didn't know him. Pope knew that Reece hadn't treated Maggie very well. At the beginning, he had, but very quickly, he had mistreated, used and abused her. Pope had learned it all, from Maggie, when they had been close.

That was a very long time ago, though. It feels like years, and years ago. He and Maggie, they aren't close now. Not anymore. He understands that. She hates him – he recognises that. Despite their differences, and their distance, and her anger, he still, in a way, cares for her. He still sees her as someone that he should protect. When they first met, he had wanted to protect her. Things had been much different, then. They might have had a chance – but you can't live your life of what _might_ have been.

He and Maggie had something, and it was good, for a while, when it lasted. It didn't last long. He feels, slightly, hypocritical, that he gets so angered at the thought of Reece causing Maggie pain or harm, and yet, he seems to be an expert in allowing others to harm her, or causing her harm.

"They found him." Pope says, before coughing, twice. He lowers his gaze, from Joseph's, to the floor.

At the beginning, Pope didn't like Joseph. There was something about him that Pope didn't trust, he didn't understand – he understands it now, though, from closer inspection. This war has, and will continue to, send some people insane, some into a spiraling, dark depression, and others into a denial. Joseph had fallen somewhere between insanity and a dark depression. Pope could see it, in his eyes. They were empty and hollow. There was no life in his eyes. He'd recognised it from his own eyes, not too long ago, when things had been darker for him.

There was, however, apart from Pope's initial assumption that Joseph was a mad man not to be trusted at all, something about Joseph that Pope liked. And he didn't like many people at all.

"Mmm….hmm….I dragged his body back. Those crawlies, they got us….Jumped outta – I don't….Mmmm. Bertha and I, we tried to get 'em, but ah, there were too many." Joseph mutters, as he rests an elbow, on each knee, and then lowers his head in his hands. "I'll find a way, to repay you." he adds, underneath his breath, as he keeps his eyes closed tightly.

Pope watches as Joseph lifts his hand from his face, runs his hands over his face – his fingers brush past the X tattoo on his cheek, and at least a dozen scars, some faded some not, on his skin. He presses his lips together, which emphasizes his hollow cheeks, as he considers what his next move will be.

"They found Henry." Pope says, finally, after continually changing the decision, in his mind, as to if he would be the one to tell Joseph.

Joseph stares up at Pope, still with almost grey eyes, with a look of complete and utter disbelief. He assumes, immediately, that Pope is lying – then the thought crosses his mind that he could be dead.

"Am I – I'm dead, right, aren't I?" Joseph checks, as he pats his chest down, to see if he is dead, and his hands will pass through his body.

"Almost died, but no, you're not. Group of marines, passing through, found Henry. As far as I know, he's still alive." Pope tells Joseph, as he moves towards the door.

Joseph moves, like he might stand, but Pope speaks before he continues any further, "Stay where you are. I'll see if they can bring him to you."

Joseph nods, quickly, at Pope, and lifts his hands in the air to indicate that he will not be going anywhere. Pope looks back on Joseph, once more, and with a small nod, he steps out of the doorway and leaves, in search of Anne. He finds Anne, not very far from Joseph's room, and, surprisingly, she is more than happy to allow Henry to see Joseph.

Although, Pope doesn't stick around to see the reunion, he feels as though he has somewhere else he needs to be.

Pope, who had left the hospital through a back exit for some air, comes across Maggie, who must have had the same idea. She's standing, silently, and not moving, with her back to the hospital. Pope takes a few steps towards her, before he says, "What are you doing, out here?"

She replies, quickly, "Could ask you the same thing."

Pope mumbles something, irrelevant, under his breath as he steps closer to her. He watches her, intently, as she continues to stand, with her eyes closed, unmoving.

"You know…." Pope begins, somewhat awkwardly. "About the warehouse-"

"Don't want to talk about it, Pope, especially not to you." she replies, quickly, still with closed eyes.

"I know what it's like," Pope speaks over Maggie, not paying heed to her words. "To lose…someone who…-"

Maggie turns, to face Pope, and with a voice that rings with anger she says, "I'm sorry, for your loss, Pope – your daughter, and your wife. I am. But, I don't want to talk about this, to _you_."

"I'm just trying-" Pope begins, still with a loud voice, but Maggie speaks over him.

"Trying to what, Pope?" she asks him, as her eyes do not falter from his. Her forehead creases, slightly, and with a small smile on her face, that is indicative of her being anything but happy, she says, "I'm just – I don't understand you, at all. There were times, when I begged for you to listen, to help me – and you stood by, and did nothing. And now, when I'm telling you, I don't want or need your help, you continue to try to help?"

Pope doesn't hesitate, as the next words quickly pass through his lips, "What happened to forgive and forget, Maggie-May? Hmmm? You know, I'm sorry, alright? I don't know what the _hell_ you want from me."

"I don't want anything, from you." she retorts, quickly, still with a creased brow.

"You know," Pope begins, through slightly gritted teeth. "This isn't going to work for long – you'll want to talk, eventually, Maggie. And you'll need to."

"Why is that?" she asks, while still, surprisingly, holding his gaze.

Pope answers, quickly, 'It'll send you insane, if you don't."

Maggie tilts her head, slightly, sideways as she says, "What? Like you?"

"I just came out here, to see why you weren't inside playing mummies and daddies with Joseph? I figured, you'd be inside, with Henry, considering he's your son. I heard Joseph's wife died, days after the first wave of the invasion, which is, in a way, good for you – means there's a spot opened up. Seems like everything worked out perfectly." he says, with a sarcastic tone and a bitter grin.

That sentence, strung together with a bitter smile and sarcastic, hurtful tone, are all it takes for Maggie to snap. She snaps, she can't control it – she does something she knows that she should have done a long time ago. Something that Pope has deserved, for years, but now feels like the appropriate time. She pulls her fist back, and, with before Pope can react, she punches him in the nose.

He makes a moaning sound, as his hands, instinctively, go up to his, now, bleeding nose. It feels swollen already. Not broken, though, he doesn't assume. She hadn't punched him as hard as she could. Just enough to make him shut up – and to leave her alone.

But, still, he doesn't leave her alone. He coughs, three times, before spitting out blood from his mouth. He looks up at Maggie, with a slight glare in his eyes, like he might snap back. But he wouldn't. He'd never physically hurt her.

Instead, he presses his lips together and pulls a face, which shows acceptance of what she has done, says, "Gotta say, that was a long time coming…."

Maggie holds Pope's gaze, but says nothing, as she watches him keep a hand to his bleeding nose.

"Forgiven, and forgotten?" Pope asks, with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

Maggie continues to watch Pope, who still has his hands to his nose, warily, before she replies, "For now."

"So, you guys are staying here, for good?" Hal asks, to none of the marine's in particular, as he makes his way towards the Humvees that he had found them standing outside.

He'd found them interesting, immediately, and wondered what and why they would want to be involved with the Second Mass.

"Seems that way, and you are?" Logan Hatchet asks, as he casts an eye over the young man asking questions.

"Hal Mason." he tells them.

Logan nods slowly, before he asks, "Tom Mason's boy?"

Hal replies, quickly, "One of three,"

"Ain't seen nothing like you, before, boy," Ronnie Wolfram comments, as he observes some odd, metal spikes standing out at the very top of Hal's neck.

They'd all heard the stories, from drifters, and they'd seen, first hand, harnessed children. They had, however, never seen a de-harnessed child.

"Little old for that, aren't you? Don't they go after the younger ones?" Broderick questions, as he also steps towards Hal, his eyes falter from the spikes, to Hal's eyes.

"How do you mean?" Hal asks, ignoring the man's question, as he holds Ronnie's gaze.

"Just mean that you're odd, that's all." Ronnie replies, as he raises his hand, to the back of Hal's neck, to get a better inspect.

Hal moves, quickly, though. His right hand darts upwards, and grabs, tightly, around Ronnie's, preventing him from touching the spikes on his back. Ronnie is extremely surprised by Hal's grip – he is far stronger than he had expected the boy to be. His grip is tight, around Ronnie's wrist, and he doesn't pull away.

"Don't think you want to be doing that, boy." Ronnie says, almost growling at Hal, as he pulls his hand free from Hal's grip.

"My apologies, Master Sergeant Wolfram," Hal says, with a small smile.

He wants to get along, with all of these men, as he could potentially use them to his advantage. They could assist, and result, in being a tool of destruction to themselves, and to the members of the Second Mass.

Clouds have begun to form, in the sky, and rain looks as though it might begin to fall, when Maggie finds Hal, entering the hospital from the main doors. She'd been looking for him, for a while – she'd been thinking, and thinking, and she was driving herself mad from all of this thinking she had been doing.

She had tried, at first, to avoid it – but she couldn't. Henry was here, in the hospital. Her son – the boy she had dreamt of, and thought of every day, and pictured what he would look like. She'd loved him, always, and would always love him. She was nervous, though, absolutely terrified. What if, Joseph didn't want her to be involved? What if she couldn't bring herself to meet him? She couldn't replace his mother. She didn't want to. She wasn't entirely sure, though, what she wanted, and how she would feel upon meeting him.

It was one of the many questions that she could not push from her already clouded mind. She had, although still terrified, decided that she wanted to see him. She had to do this – it was, not only, something she had longed for, for many years. It was something that could fill the large, surging, dark hole she felt inside of her whenever she was alone.

She couldn't allow herself to think about it – to think about what she and Hal had lost. They hadn't talked about it. She couldn't bring herself to talk about it, and so she tried to not let herself think about it. And, if by accident, she thought about it, she wouldn't allow herself to feel anything. It was better this way, if she shut off all of her emotions, then she wouldn't feel the pain and she wouldn't fall victim to the darkness.

"I've been looking everywhere, for you." Maggie comments, as she approaches Hal.

He looks up at her, with eyes that are, for a second, entirely empty, before he says, "I've been outside."

He tells her the truth – but not all of it. He had been outside, but he'd been further away – five miles away, to be precise. He'd ordered Karen to bury the body of the man, from the previous night, and then had returned to the hospital.

"You're nervous, again." he comments, after he observes the humans emotions.

"Mmm…." she mumbles, very softly. "I, uh – I was…ummm…I'm thinking, of going to visit Henry." she says, finally, before releasing a deep breath of air, she hadn't realised she was holding.

Hal is silent, longer than he had intended, as he tries to compose something to say in response to the human.

"That's great, Maggie." he tells her, finally, with the most convincing voice that he can find.

Maggie nods, slowly, before she speaks, "You think…so? I mean….I don't- I'm not sure."

"It's great, Maggie. You should see him, if it's what you need." Hal tells her, while holding her gaze.

He'll tell her anything that she wants to hear, as he doubts that the human will be, except for allowing him to maintain his cover, of any real use to her.

Noticing her hesitation, Hal says, "I can't come with you, Maggie."

Despite her failed attempt to shield her emotions, he can see she, immediately, is upset by this idea.

"I would, I'm sorry – but, uh….You know Billy? He's gone missing, and I'm going out, with a group, to look for him. I was actually looking for Tom, so that we could leave."

"I should – I should help you, find Billy." Maggie decides, as she begins moving towards the door.

Hal moves with her, and blocks her path, he says, softly, "No, you should stay here, and see Henry. I'll visit you later. You need to do this, Maggie. OK?"

"OK." she answers, after a moment of silent hesitation.

"I'll see you on my return," Hal tells her, as he catches sight of Tom, walking towards Hal.

From his first observation of Professor Mason – he can see that he is not in the best mood. He's angry, he can tell that much. He moves, very quickly, towards Hal – it's as though he wants to get out of the hospital as fast as he can.

With one last glance at Maggie, who is watching him, nervously, Hal turns to Tom, and the two of them walk out of the front entrance of the hospital.

"What's wrong?" he asks, Tom, as he continues to observe him.

Tom nods, and for a moment, he says nothing. But, he eventually cracks, and says, "I knew those Marines would be trouble."

"How are they trouble?" Hal questions, curiously, as he and Tom join up with the rest of the group, outside of the hospital.

"Hold that thought." Tom tells him, as he turns to the group gathered.

Tom informs, and directs, each one on where they will be looking, for Billy, who had reportedly left the hospital sometime last night and has yet to return.

Ben and Anthony get sent east of the hospital, on bikes. Tector and Pope go north of the hospital, on foot. Lee and Lyle go south of the hospital, also on foot, and Tom and Hal go west, on foot.

Weaver had informed Tom, that four of the five of Marines – not including Logan Hatchet, had already left, and were each taking different directions, but he insisted that Tom cover all four.

"So, how are they causing trouble?" Hal asks, as he and Tom move past the hospital, and begin to follow a rocky path down into the forest.

Tom hesitates, before, with a clearly annoyed and angered tone, he says, "They're trying to convince Weaver that we'd be better, safer, without the civilians."

"Really?" Hal asks, as they continue to move through the trees, green, and shrubbery.

They come to a fallen tree log, which he recognises from last night, and both step over it.

"The civilians – they're what motivates us, to fight. They make up most of the Second Mass. We need them just as they need us." Tom says, confidently.

"What does Captain Weaver think?" he asks, while keeping his eyes on Tom, who is searching the grounds, and trees, for any sign or indication of Billy.

Both of them hold their rifles, firmly, in their hands, as they could run into something dangerous out here. This causes the corners of Hal's mouth to threaten to turn into a smile. If only Tom knew that the most powerful, dangerous thing to the humans, and to the Second Mass, was standing beside him.

"I think….He's considering it. They were persuasive. Hatchet went into a rage, about us risking innocent civilian lives, and how the civilian's lives are our future, and our responsibility, and that they might not have a future attached to us." Tom replies, as his eyes continue to scan the land before him.

"Billy's kind of an example, isn't he? I mean….and example of how easily civilian lives can be lost." Hal comments, as his eyes flicker down to the tracks that he'd made last night.

He is quick to walk over the tracks, making them seem as though they are freshly imprinted.

Tom says, softly, "Billy could still be out here, Hal. We'll never give up hope. It's the only thing that keeps us going."

"What if all hope is futile?" Hal questions, as he pretends to search the forests for the body that they will not find.

Tom shakes his head, as he says, confidently, "It'll never be futile, Hal. We'll always fight – we have to. And we'll always hold hope, because it's the only thing that keeps us from going completely insane. We can win this."

Hal nods, as though he is taking Tom's words into consideration, before he says, "So tell me, Dad, what is the Second Mass' next move, from here?"

Maggie changes her mind, several times, on the walk towards the room she was aware Joseph was currently staying in. First, she had decided that she would, if she didn't change her mind upon reaching the door handle, speak with Joseph. Even now, as she stepped towards his door, she wasn't entirely sure how this conversation would go. And, without Hal by her side, she was feeling, if possible, more vulnerable, and frightened, and nervous, than earlier.

As Maggie reaches the door, her hand freezes before touching the handle – something she had known would, very likely, happen. Her left hand, covered with a finger-less black glove, sets down onto the door handle, and after she takes in a deep breath of air, she pushes the door, completely, open.

Maggie is, to say the least, overwhelmed, as her eyes fall down onto those in the room – Joseph is here. He is sitting, on the edge of his bed, wearing no shirt, and long black pants. He doesn't look well. He looks weak, exhausted, and slightly ill – his face is paler, than she remembers, and he has heavy bags underneath his eyes. His eyes, still grey, are not empty and hollow, as she'd remembered them. Beside Joseph, on the bed, dressing in a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, light brown pants, and brown joggers, sits a four-year old –his _eyes_.

Maggie knows, in that second, with no doubt, that the boy, seated before her is her son. There is no flicker of doubt or second of hesitation. His _eyes_; that she never stopped dreaming or thinking of. They are still, the same, lightest shade of blue, mixed with the tiny spots of brown, almost golden, that she remembers.

His skin is pale, and painted on his face are the tiniest, white bandages – covering wounds, probably, sustained, because of Reece – he doesn't look, apart from the similarity in the eyes, all that much like Reece. He has her mother, Elizabeth's, nose. And he has, undoubtedly, her father's hair – a light shade of brown that is almost golden.

"Uh….I'm sorry – I…." she says, as she lowers her gaze from Henry.

She feels, horrible, immediately. She shouldn't be here. Henry may be her son, by blood – but she gave him up. It was incredibly difficult, and painful, but she did it so that he would have a better life. And she was foolish, and selfish, to think that she could provide that life for him – and that she could take him away from the people he believed were his real parents. They were Henry's parents, in the sense that they were better for him than Maggie or Reece could ever be.

This isn't her place. She shouldn't have come here. She should have gone with Hal, and helped the groups to find Billy.

"Oh, Maggie, love, don't go – wait…" Joseph says, standing, very quickly, from the bed.

He regrets it, immediately, because he is hit with a consuming, powerful pain throughout his body. He doesn't remember feeling like this, ever, but he doesn't have time to feel it. It's only a momentary pain, because he has Henry back. He has his boy back. Everything will be fine. They'll be okay. They'll make it through this, together.

Joseph says, softly, "Henry wants to meet you."

Maggie hesitates, she almost freezes, as she turns slightly to look back at Joseph, "He does?" she asks.

"I was –" Joseph stops, momentarily, as he coughs to clear his throat. "Telling him – convincing him, that I'm going to be fine…. Told him what happened to you, what the critters did, and that you made it through alright."

Maggie stands, still silent, as her eyes move, slowly and cautiously, from Henry to Joseph.

"And-And…" Joseph begins, as hobbles back towards his bed.

His body is exhausted – he needs to treat it better, he knows that, because that is why he is suffering so much now. He hasn't eaten, properly, in months. He hasn't properly cared for his wounds, or injuries, either – since Henry went missing. He was, for a moment, scolded by Anne for not taking care of the injuries and wounds that he was aware of.

"He'd love to hear some of your 'battle' stories. I tried – telling him, mine, but he, uh, tired of 'em….Heard them, hundreds, of times…." Joseph finishes, as he retakes his seat on the edge of the bed.

"You – uh, come in, sweetheart. Come on, now." Joseph adds – the way that he pronounces sweetheart, this time, in his weaker state – sounds like he drops the h of heart. "Go on, Hen," Joseph mutters, as he leans, down, a little closer, to his son.

"Hi, Maggie" Henry says, with a tiny smile on his face, as he watches the woman he knows, now, as Maggie, step through the doorway, very slowly, and close the bedroom door behind her.

She smiles at him, genuinely, as she says, a little timidly, "Hi, Henry."

"Dad said you were OK, after the bugs got you…" Henry comments, as his eyes move from Joseph to Maggie, who is he still a little shy of.

"The critters?" Maggie asks, as she, still moves very slowly, towards an empty arm chair, placed, in front of Henry and Joseph, at the side of Joseph's bed.

"Yeah," Henry nods. "What happened? Did you get any scars?" he asks.

"Yeah, I did, Henry. But they healed, just like your Dad's will." she replies, with a smaller smile on her face.

Her scars haven't healed, not entirely – they won't heal for a very long time. She does not, however, wish to show the scars, that she is ashamed of, to Henry. Her first instinct is to protect him, and to keep him safe and happy.

"Will you tell me about it?" Henry asks, a little more enthusiastically, as he seems to edge a little closer to Maggie, on the bed.

"Oh, I don't – think so. Your Dad looks tired – I should go."

Joseph who had been watching, Maggie, with a curiosity, shakes his head, as he moves back, on to the bed, so that he's lying down. He shifts more to the side, though, so that Henry still has plenty of room to sit.

"I'll just – close my eyes, here…." he tells the two of them, as he closes his eyes. "You two talkin won't bother me."

Hal and Tom return, over an hour after searching for Billy, but finding nothing. From the look on the faces of the rest of the search party, except for Pope, who have already returned, Tom knows that they also found nothing – no sign of Billy.

"You said to me, after I saved yours and Weaver's ass from Thatch, that you owed me." Pope begins, as he walks, with speed, towards Tom and Hal.

If Pope's face is any indication of his mood – he isn't in a good one.

"Thatch?" Tom questions, checking whether that was the name that Pope did indeed call Joseph. "And, I don't recall saying that." Tom adds.

Tom recalls Joseph telling Weaver, and he earlier, that his pals call him Thatch.

Tom finds this slightly, for some reason, amusing that Pope – who is, easily, one of the least, if not the least, like-able and friendly person in the Second Mass, seems to have made friends with Joseph.

"Yeah, what of it?" Pope questions, angrily, and then, a small, sarcastic grin replaces his frown, as he says, "Jealous, are we Mason?" he asks. "Don't worry, you're still my number one gal," Pope adds, as he winks his right eye.

A slight frown falls onto Tom's features, as a small smile plays on his lips. "I don't recall telling you that I owed you."

"Yeah, well, you didn't say it in words – but, I did say that you could thank me later, well it's later, and you can thank me. So thank me – you owe me. Mason, let me do the honor – let me bury the hatchet, literally."

"Hatchet? Logan Hatchet – why? What did he do, Pope?" Tom asks, as he takes another step towards Pope, with a slightly creased forehead.

"They pulled us out of our search, early, said – no, they commanded, that we return. Hatchet ordered us to return, because as he said, he's part of the Second Mass now, and therefore can give us _civilians orders_ and we must follow them. You know, my first thought was to go after the idiot who let them in – but, I figured that was either you, or the Captain, and you both have your varying degrees of usefulness."

"Thanks, Pope." Tom says, sarcastically. "I'll talk to Weaver."

"You will?" Pope questions, mocking gratitude, as he continues, "That was EXACTLY the breakthrough I was hoping for. Talking – what more could I ask for? A question, Mason, if you will…. Why didn't you talk him out of it, in the first place?"

Tom looks from Hal, to Pope, before he says, "I said I'll talk to him, Pope."

"Hey, Ed," Tector calls out, at the sight of Hal, as he moves, from the stairs of the hospital, towards Hal.

Hal turns, stiffly and slowly, to face Tector. His face continues to hold the same, unchanged, unreadable expression, as his eyes flicker, once, curiously over Tector. He waits, for the man to step towards him, before he allows the smile to form on his face.

"Tector…is something the matter?" he asks.

Tector nods, a little slowly, and says, "I've got good news, Ed – Was just in, with Dai, and he's awake, and responsive. Anne said he's gonna be good."

"That's good, Tector. It's great." Hal replies, still feigning smile.

If he hadn't been convinced of the human's weakness, their compassion, then he surely was now. Despite them being in battle, with a far superior and advanced race than their own, they seemed to, from his observations, care more about each, individual soul, than the war. He finds it slightly strange, though, that no one has picked up on the, hosts he is occupying, slight change. He hasn't been able to mimic Hal Mason's movement, the way he speaks, and how he acts. This is another advantage to him, though, that no one has noticed.

"I will visit him, I need to visit Maggie first, though." he lies, before he steps past Tector and moves inside.

As he moves up the stairs of the building, he is hit with a sudden weakness – it isn't his weakness though, it is the host's weakness – Hal Mason's weakness. Once inside the room, with the door closed, he moves his hands to, the host's, back, where the weakness had begun from, and spread. He pulls the hosts hand away, after it brushes against a sticky substance.

As the hand comes into his sight, he turns it over slowly, so that he may identify the substance – the paleness of the human's skin is tainted with the smear of red - a mixture of a deep, dark red, and the lightest, few specks of yellow – which isn't blood, but rather a leaky, watery substance which is surely and indication of an infection.

The infection, and the blood, is of no concern to the Overlord – it only means that he will have to speed up his tactics, and the obliteration of the Second Mass, before the human body dies. He will continue to use this human, however he can, until the time comes where he isn't useful, and then he will transfer into another. If the infection, that is surely spreading, does not kill Hal Mason, the removal of the bug from his mind will leave him useless, and almost certainly dead; perhaps, not physically dead, but mentally dead he will not be as he was.

The Overlord has already chosen the other, whose mind and body he will take complete control of, once he is done with this body – the one he has chosen is Ben Mason.

**A/N: Thanks so much to my amazing sister. I'll leave it at that because that summarizes it pretty well. Thanks so much to everyone who reads my story, still - YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING. You really are. I don't think I can thank you enough, but I will continue to try because you're awesome.**

**I apologise for any grammatical errors - I found one, while reading this chapter, but now I cannot find it anywhere! So, if you see one, please PM me :)**

**I know, there has been a lack of the new OC's in this chapter, but that was intentional. I'm still not entirely sure how you guys, the readers, have interpreted or responded to the introduction of these five new OC's - do you like them? Please, pm or review this, and let me know if you do like them, if you want them to stick around, if there is anything in particular you'd like to see happen with them, or anyone else. Any ideas or thoughts of them, please feel free to PM me, because I only want to please you guys and make sure you're enjoying it.**

**Dear Guest reviewer who posted as Guest, on chapter 41:  
**There are two of you who posted as guest, thanks for reviewing :) I'm replying to the reviewer who started out with; **Wow a new chapter so soon!**

**Hi :) Yes, a new chapter so soon! I've been trying to update more frequently for you guys. Thanks so much, that's so nice! I don't want to say too much, because it could give something away, BUT they will find out about Hal, soon enough, but I can't promise you he won't cause any harm or trouble!  
Yes! Henry is here! Maggie is going to deal with that in the way that she won't deal with her feelings or emotions about it, or anything, if you get what I mean? She's going to push down all feelings about it, and focus on meeting him, first. She's going through something hard, right now, and she's kind of pushing down all feelings to deal with it. It'll be difficult, with her dealing with Henry because she'll fall in love with him even more and want him. Thanks so much! Sorry for the slow update, I hope you enjoy :) X**

**Dear Agus, on chapter 41;  
Hi! :) Yes, Hal's mind and body is under complete control of the Overlord. I'm so happy to hear that you find it exciting to read (that's my goal) I find it exciting to right! There are more twists and turns coming! Thanks for your advice, but got help from another user on here (Thank you so much!) And have figured the problem out. Thanks so much for reading! :) X**

**Dear Guest, who posted as Guest on chapter 41;  
Hi :) No, this is not good for the 2nd mass at all!That's all I'll say otherwise I might give too much away. Thanks so much for reading. I'm so happy to hear you think it's great! I'll definitely keep them coming :) Thanks for reading and reviewing! X**

**Dear Guest Reviewer Alice; on chapter 41;  
Hi there :) ! Wow, you sound like you've been incredibly busy. Thank you so very much for taking the time, from your busy life, to read and review my story. It means a lot to see that despite your busy life, you've taken the time to read this. Thank you! Aw, thanks for that, I hope that I did good on the exams as well.  
Yes, it has been a rollercoaster to say the least! It was a bomb, that I didn't even plan on including but it just happened.  
Hal being controlled will created some more cliffhangers, I'll tell you that much :)  
I don't want to spoil it, but they will find out soon enough Hal is not really Hal AND I think, possibly, the person who will find out the first will be a surprise, and HOW they find out will be surprising.  
It'll also be interesting to see who doesn't notice, and why they don't.  
Henry will throw Maggie off guard, especially because of the feelings associated with him - eg. her instinct to protect him, will surprise her because she wasn't sure how she would feel. I don't want to spoil it for you, but Henry's going to stick around for a while, so that might indicate that he and Maggie make a bond.  
Thank you for reading :)**

**OK I'm sorry for the essay long replies to the guest reviews. My replies are almost as long as the fic itself, so sorry. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Xxx**

**My thoughts, well-wishes, and prayers are with all of you who are dealing with the aftermath of Sandy. I don't understand, in anyway, what you're going through, but I'm thinking of you all, as is all of Australia. You're all incredibly strong and brave and you'll make it through this tough time. Stay safe! X**


	43. In the morning I'll be with you

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline.**

* * *

The morning sun seemed to rise, much faster, to Maggie, this morning. She'd slept an hour, at the least, that night, and had woken alone, in the bed that she shared with Hal. She had waited, hours, for Hal, as she lay, covered by blankets and sheets, holding the Saint Jude Pendant in her right hand, and watching the sun rising, and setting, in the sky.

Maggie had always preferred the morning, to the night. Things, to her, sometimes, seemed better, in the morning, with the light shining down. Not this morning. She didn't like this morning at all. She'd woken alone, again. She found herself, sometimes, dreaming of the morning when she had woken to find solace and comfort in his arms.

This morning, however, she had woken to an emptiness and loneliness. When Maggie had returned to their room, to sleep, Hal hadn't been there. She wasn't entirely sure if he had come to their bed, at all, that night or morning. There was nothing to indicate that he had been there, at all. She had considered going to search for him, but had decided against it because it could be what Hal wanted. He may have wanted the space, from her. She considered the idea that all of this had become too much for him. He was young – just eighteen.

Maggie always seemed to forget how young Hal really was. He was mature above his years. He was _only_ eighteen. Days ago, he had turned eighteen. Days ago, Hal had learned that he could have been a father. If things had turned out differently – he would have been. He wasn't ready for that. He was overwhelmed, Maggie guessed, but all of this, and by Henry's return.

She hadn't slept well, in the night that had passed. It wasn't because she had felt sick – or, perhaps it was. Maggie wasn't entirely sure _what _she felt lately. She hadn't felt anything in days, and that was by intention. She couldn't allow herself to feel anything, too deeply, yet. But, before she could prevent it, the loneliness had crept up, and swallowed her.

She should have felt happy, joyed, that she had met Henry. After Joseph had fallen asleep, they had spent hours, and hours, talking about everything and everything. He was sweet, and funny, and they laughed for hours. She hadn't laughed, or smiled, like she had with Henry in a while. The last person that had made her laugh, and smile, like that was Hal.

Henry is a great, beautiful kid. He's her son - and she met him, after these years of wonder, and anguish, and worry – she had met her son. She should have been smiling, but she couldn't bring herself to smile once she'd left Henry's room. In the hours that she'd spent with him, the worries of the world and the pain that accompanied those worries had, momentarily, been forgotten.

Knowing how she should feel, and what she does feel, is incredibly difficult for Maggie to deal with, so she doesn't deal with it. She can't deal with it. Instead of waiting for Hal, who may not return, and instead of allowing her thoughts, memories and emotions to daze and consume her, she has to move. She has to do something to distract herself from her thoughts.

So she moves, towards the shower, and rinses her body under the icy cold water that flows softly from the shower head. Each droplet that hits her skin, and soaks into it, soothes her.

As always, the water feels different against the scarred parts of her body. Her scars have faded, in parts, but they're still there, and she still considers them as something she is ashamed and embarrassed of. She lets the water trickle down her skin, tattoos and scars, until she feels clean.

Once clean, and changed into a clean pair of black jeans, and a grey tank top, Maggie steps out of the bathroom, with her leather jacket in her hand, to find Hal, stepping through the door to their room.

He looks tired, like he hasn't slept at all, in days. His skin is paler, than usual, and his cheekbones appear, slightly, hollow. His eyes move towards her, slowly, and once catching sight of her he does not smile, or say a word, instead his eyes move over her arms, which are not covered by any garments, or clothing – the skin is raw and scarred, in places, and in other places it is covered in tattoos. He takes in all of her, with his eyes, as if they are a new sight to him, and still says nothing.

Maggie catches Hal's empty gaze, which she feels is taking in each, and every, insecurity and mark on her body. She shifts, a little awkwardly, and pulls on her black leather jacket as quickly as is possible, before she says, "How are you feeling?"

Maggie hasn't stopped worrying about Hal – since the day that she met him. She tries, not to allow herself to worry, but she can't. Before he was taken, by the aliens, and changed, she worried for him. She worried that she would lose him, and she did, and she hadn't _really_ gotten him back, not like before, until they had come here. It was here, that they'd become closer, they became stronger.

All of this, the way that Hal was acting, it was strange, to say the least. There was something different, in his eyes, which caught Maggie's attention and caused her to worry.

She feels like she is losing him, again. It's as though he's slipping right through her fingers, and there's not a thing that she can do to hold on to him.

"I'm fine, Maggie." he replies, quickly.

Maggie pushes her long blonde curls, with her hands that are covered with black finger-less gloves, behind her ears, before she lets a small sigh pass her lips. "Where were – you….?" she asks, softly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't return. I spent the night with Ben." Hal tells her, softly, while maintaining her gaze.

Maggie nods, as she steps towards Hal. She watches him, with both curiosity and concern in her dark brown eyes. After her eyes move over him, once more, she asks the question that has been troubling her for days. She says, with a low voice, "Is your memory… – do you remember, the warehouse?"

Her forehead creases, slightly, as the words pass her lips. She watches him, with intensity, as he stares back at her, silent for a moment.

"Yes, I do." he answers, with a voice that is slightly unnerving.

There are no emotions in his eyes, or in his voice, as he speaks. That is what frightens Maggie. That is why the voice in Maggie's head begins screaming at her – telling her that Hal is not okay.

Maggie begins to speak, to tell him to say something or anything about it – they need to talk about it. They both need to.

Hal cuts over Maggie, though, with a cold expression on his face, he says, "I can't do this right now. I have an appointment with Doctor Glass."

"For what?" Maggie asks, with a voice that is clear with panic.

"Doctor Glass wants to check that I'm healing, well." Hal replies, quickly, as he takes a step away from her. "I'll return." he adds, as he reaches the door.

With one last look back on Maggie, he turns away from her and steps through the doorway, entirely.

Maggie stands, at a still, staring down at the empty space that remains, in Hal's absence. She didn't want him to leave, but didn't have the words to ask him to stay. Her fears have been proven right, by Hal's quick departure – he wants space, between them. Even with this distance, between them, Maggie can feel that something isn't quite right.

She wants to go after Hal, and ask him where he is and what has happened to the Hal that she remembers, because the man that stood before her wasn't the Hal she knows, the Hal she finds herself thinking of, constantly, or the Hal that she fell for.

Those hazel eyes, which made her feel a million new things with each and every glance, seem darker. The light has faded, slightly, from them. She wants the light to return. She wants him to return to how he was, before. But he's gone, now. And she's not entirely sure when he'll return to her.

In her moment of uncertainty, the only thing she can allow herself to feel at the moment, Maggie heads outside. Not to the roof, because the idea of heights, in this moment of uncertainty, is not as appealing to Maggie, as it usually is. Her feet lead her outside – to the fresh, cool air, which soaks into her skin, and soothes her as the cool water had done so earlier.

As she opens her eyes, she finds Ben, walking towards her, with a rifle hanging over his shoulder and a tired expression on his features. When he catches sight of her, he gives her a small smile, as he continues to walk towards her.

"You on patrol?" he asks her.

Maggie shakes her head, as she looks up at Ben, "Nah." she replies. "You look tired…Did Hal, bunking with you last night, keep you up?"

The beginnings of a frown spread on Ben's forehead, and he lifts his hand to the side of his head, "Hal didn't bunk with me, Maggie." he tells her, while scratching at the side of his head.

He drops his hand, back to his side, and lifts his eyes back up, to look at her. Ben can see, clearly, that something has changed, between Maggie and Hal. He can't see what, though. He can't see, or guess, what Maggie might be feeling, right now, because she's excellent at hiding her emotions. Now, he sees nothing in her eyes, or on her face, which might give him any indication of what she might be thinking or feeling.

"Did Hal tell you that?" Ben asks.

Ben wonders, and worries, why Hal would be lying to Maggie about his whereabouts, and where he spent the night. Ben assumes that Hal is having difficulty sleeping, and is probably not sleeping at all.

Ben doesn't sleep much, if all, these days, and so he understands that Hal might be outside, or wandering hallways trying to distract himself from his thoughts or memories that he can't escape, because he can't sleep.

Even with sleep, you can't escape the thoughts, or the memories. They can, at times, be worse in dreams, because there is a sense of helplessness, an inability to do anything to protect those you love, or even yourself.

"Nah, I-uh…I woke up, and he wasn't there. I was just….guessing." Maggie replies, lying.

She can't, for some reason, admit to Ben, or to herself, that Hal lied to her.

"Excuse me," A voice, unfamiliar to Maggie's or Ben's ears cuts in, over there conversation. The two of them look towards the speaker – the youngest of the Marines. He stands, before them, upright, in his uniform and with his weapon in his hands. "I'm looking for a Miss Margaret." he tells them, after casting a quick glance over both of them.

"Maggie." she corrects him, as her forehead creases up in confusion.

"My apologies, Maggie." Isaac says, still with a serious expression on his face. "I'm Staff Sergeant Isaac Hatchet. Captain Weaver has just informed me that the two of us will be doing a patrol, together."

Maggie hesitates, as her eyes flicker from Isaac to Ben. She shakes her head, slightly, because she isn't on patrol until later, that afternoon – and she's doing that patrol with Tector. He'd offered – no, he'd insisted that he'd go with her, on this patrol and any others until Hal was well. And Hal wasn't well yet. Hal is her partner; he will always be her partner.

"You must be mistaken." Maggie replies, quickly.

"I'm not mistaken, Maggie." Isaac tells her. "Captain Weaver, not long ago, held a meeting in which he informed me, and my brothers, that we would be, regularly, involved in patrols. He assigned the first patrol to the two of us."

At first, Maggie, reluctantly, follows Isaac towards the location they will be patrolling – north of the hospital. But, once she gains her bearings, she speeds up and takes the lead. But, much to Maggie's annoyance, Isaac keeps pace, and manages, for most of their patrol, to stay right by her side, like Hal would.

"Speedy little thing, aren't you?" Isaac comments, with a small grin on his face, as he keeps his eyes on Maggie.

Maggie replies, quickly, "Have you considered that maybe you're just too slow?"

Still with a smile on his face, Isaac says, "I'm a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps."

"A slow one." she retorts, with no smile on her face.

Maggie has no reason to trust Isaac, or any of the men who accompanied him here. They don't have a particularly good history with outsiders – especially military outsiders. There seems to always be clashes with those in the military, and those not.

"So, Maggie, do you have a last name?" Isaac questions, as both he and Maggie duck, simultaneously, under a low hanging tree branch.

Once surfacing from underneath it, and returning to her normal stance, Maggie continues to walk as she replies, "Nah."

"That's quite strange. So, in a way, you're like Cher. No last name." Isaac suggests, with a grin, that Maggie finds both goofy and slightly annoying, on his face.

Maggie cranes her neck, to glance once at Isaac. When she turns her attention back to the trees in front of her, she says. "You know, you're very talkative, for someone part of such a secretive group."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended, or take that as a compliment?" he asks, tilting his head sideways. "Secrecy is perhaps one of our only weapons left against the enemy." Isaac adds.

"We aren't your enemy." Maggie says, very quickly/

"And we are not yours." he replies, with a more serious expression and tone. "You're quite quiet, Maggie." he adds, as he continues to observe her.

Still keeping her eyes on the forest ahead, Maggie says, "Yeah, well, I'm not looking to make new friends."

Isaac takes a few, larger steps forwards, towards Maggie, and once he is beside her he says, "That's a shame. I think you and I would have gotten along well."

"I doubt that." she says, once finally meeting his gaze.

His green eyes stay locked on her, as he says, "So very doubtful and suspicious, aren't you, Maggie? Tell me, are you always like this? Or is it only with strangers you assume to be enemies."

"We don't assume that you're enemies." she tells him, with a softer voice. "We haven't worked well, with outsiders. I doubt that will ever change. Our methods are too different."

With a slight from on his face and a faltering smile on his lips, Isaac says, "They can't be that different, can they? We all have the same goal."

Maggie nods, slightly, as she considers his words. They do have the same goal, but their methods are usually different from others. She says, softly, "One would think so."

The smile has disappeared from Isaac's face, and his expression is that of a much more serious one, as he says, "Doubt us, if you will. Watch us with suspicion if you must. But, we are humans, just like you, and we are fighting the same war as you are. The Second Mass can't fight two wars – one against the outsiders deemed suspicious, and the aliens, because you can't win both wars. To win this we must present a united front. We must remain on the same side."

Those last words replay through Maggie's mind – they must remain on the same side. It's vital to the survival of the human race. Not standing, firmly, on the same side is not only a waste of energy but of time. Time is so very precious in this new world. You have to hold onto it, for as long as you can, because before you've realised it, the time slips through your fingers, and there's not one thing that you can do to get it back.

They walk, in a complete silence, back towards the hospital, at the end of their patrol.

As the hospital comes into view, Isaac looks down at Maggie, as he walks beside her, and says, "You know, Maggie, for the doubtful, suspicious, speedy person that you are, you strike me as odd. You seem – there's something about you."

Maggie raises her eyebrows, slightly, and with a low voice, she asks, "Is there?"

Isaac nods, slightly, as he tells her, "Yes, there is. The odd thing is, despite your attempts to come across as though you don't care, you do. You care a lot – especially about the lost causes."

Isaac had caught sight, of the pendant hanging around Maggie's neck, earlier, but had found it appropriate to bring it up now. He found that there was something incredibly interesting about her. He wasn't quite sure what it was he found so interesting, or why that was, but he did. He hadn't met anyone like her before.

She stiffens up, noticeably, as her left hand moves, slowly, towards the chain hanging from her neck. She felt strange, that another pair of eyes that weren't Hal's had seen their pendant. It was theirs. Maggie and Hal had both been lost causes, and still were today. They were lost causes who had, in ways previously thought unimaginable by Maggie, helped each other by just being there. Being in the others presence was enough to help.

Maggie lifts her gaze, very slowly, to Isaac, who she finds is already watching her. She can feel his green eyes, attempting to dissect her brain – to learn who she was, and what made her tick. "You know – I think….We're done here, Isaac."

Isaac takes a long step, in front of Maggie, to stop her from moving. With his hands, raised slightly in the air, he says, "Maggie, we were just getting-"

Maggie takes a step back, and still with a creased forehead she says, "Getting to what – know each other? Nah, we weren't. I told you – I'm not looking to make new friends."

"You keep throwing that word around; I never said I wanted to be your friend. I don't like you all that much, and you, clearly, can't stand to be around me – I've gathered that much from your speed walking." Isaac says, with the smallest smile playing on his lips. He tilts his head slightly, to the side, and continues, "This sounds like the beginning of a terrific friendship, doesn't it? Besides, I don't have many friends – and from what I've heard, you could use another."

"What you've heard?" Maggie asks, a little intrigued but also confused about what it is he has heard about her.

"Yes, well, people talk." He tells her, before pausing, and with no smile he says, "I think that having all of these civilians around is incredibly risky and almost idiotic. But, they are useful for making conversation."

"You want to talk?" Maggie asks, as she takes a step to the side, away from Isaac. "So talk to them. Not me." she tells him, before abruptly, stepping away and moving, as quickly as she can, towards the hospital.

Upon reaching the stairs of the hospital, Maggie's pace slows down, as her eyes scan each hallway and every room that is open, for Hal. She wonders, as she continues to search for him, how he is feeling, how his appointment with Anne went. He was acting strange, about it. Maggie couldn't quite figure out what it was, but there was something different, she knew that much.

Just as Maggie thinks of Hal's appointment, with Anne – she appears, in front of Maggie, coming towards her with a warm smile on her face. Dressed in a long grey blouse, and dark brown pants, Anne says, so softly, "Hi, Maggie. How are you feeling?"

"Fine thanks, Anne." Maggie replies, a little too quickly.

"That's good." Anne tells her, still with the kind, motherly smile that she always wears.

There is, however, something that Maggie sees in Anne's eyes that she recognises, all too well. She saw it in her eyes, when they were at Charleston, and Maggie was falling to pieces. She won't let herself go back there – back to the shattered mess she became at Charleston. She won't allow herself to be that person again. She won't let Anne look at her, this way, as she did in Charleston.

"Have you seen Hal?" Maggie asks, finally, breaking the moment of silence.

Anne shakes her head, as she crosses her arms. She replies, "Not today. Why?"

"You haven't seen him today?" she asks Anne, with a frown on her face.

"No, I've been with patients, all day. Except for lunch – I ate it with Tom, and Matt. Why? You haven't seen him today?" Anne asks, slightly worried about Hal's whereabouts.

Maggie falls silent, for a second, as she becomes, momentarily, occupied by her thoughts and worries about Hal. She looks up, at the sound of Anne calling out her name.

"Yeah, I've seen him. It's just….He's acting, differently." Maggie says, softly.

Anne questions, "How do you mean?"

"Do you think that Karen could have done something to him? He doesn't seem…himself." Maggie tells Anne, as she takes in a deep breath of air.

The thought of Karen hurting Hal, of her causing Hal pain, makes Maggie feel sick to her stomach. Maggie wants to, as she has always wanted to, do anything to keep Hal safe.

Anne shakes her head, and with a gentle smile on her face which is supposed to be reassuring, Anne says, "Maggie, I understand what you're feeling. You almost lost Hal. You've got every right to be worried. I'll check in on him, if you want, but I assure you, your worries are you reaction to almost losing him. Hal is still Hal."

"Master, have you decided on your first move of attack?" Karen questions, as she appears, almost out of the air, behind the unmoving and silent figure of Hal Mason.

He doesn't turn to her; instead he continues to stand, at the foot of the pool of running water in the forest. The water moves, slowly, when a new ripple is formed. It, mostly, appears calm, on the surface. He tells her, while continuing to look down at the blue, almost clear, water, "I ordered you to return when needed. You are not needed yet."

Karen says, softly, "I'm sorry, Master. I have been eager, to move against the humans."

He tells her, with a low voice, "We will move soon enough. The plan is coming together, as I expected it would."

As Karen steps towards her Master, she stops, abruptly, as she feels that he has become weakened – ill.

"You are ill, Master." she states, immediately concerned for his wellbeing, as she continues to move towards him.

"I am not ill." he tells her, as he turns, slowly, to face her. "The host is ill."

"Hal Mason?" Karen checks, with a face that clearly shows the momentary flash of worry that passed her mind.

Despite who she is, now, she will forever hold feelings for Hal Mason. The idea of Hal being ill does not sit well with Karen, and she feels she must speak.

"You will get treatment for the human?" Karen asks.

Hal says, coldly, "You suggest foolish things. I will not be seeking treatment for a human, who will be dead in time - They will all be dead in time. You care, still, for the human whose body I am occupying? You are incredibly useful to me. But that does not mean that I will not dispose of you if you prove, in the future, to be of no further use. It is the human part of you, which weakens you. Do not allow it to control you."

Karen says, with an expressionless face, "I will not. I have long forgotten that side, Master."

He continues to watch her, as he says, slowly, "Since you are here, I will inform you of the plan, and your role in it."

The previously, almost clear, blue sky, which had followed Maggie around during her patrol, with Isaac, had long disappeared as she had neared the hospital. The clouds had shifted, the colours had changed and faded into a darker blue, before changing, entirely, into a grey. The thick clouds, that had formed and now hung heavy in the sky, clearly showed that a storm was not far off.

She had, after finding Anne, continued on her search for Hal. She had wanted to talk to him, so badly, now. Instead of finding Hal, however, Maggie found a different Mason– Matt. She found him, sitting alone, in the cafeteria. She found this odd, considering she was used to seeing Benjamin attached to Matt's hip.

Maggie moves towards him, slowly, and once reaching him she does not sit at the table, but rather stands, at the edge of it. "What's up, Matt?" she asks him, softly and straight out.

Matt's creased forehead is a clear indication that something is wrong. Maggie isn't sure what is wrong, or if she will be able to help him – but she will try her hardest to, because she cares for him.

Matt shrugs, and says, softly, "Nothing."

"Come on." Maggie begins, as she pulls out a seat, in front of him, and puts her rifle down on the table. "I know you too well. What's up?" she asks.

Matt shifts, in his seat, and when he finally lifts his eyes to meet Maggie's, he asks her, "Hal's going to be okay, isn't he?"

With silent doubt, in her mind, Maggie answers as reassuringly as she can, "Hal's going to be fine, Matt. He always is."

"And Ben- Ben's going to be okay, right? He's going to stick around?" Matt asks, with a slightly nervous voice.

"You're worried about your brothers." Maggie comments. As Matt stays silent, she looks down at him, and with a small smile, that reassures Matt, she says, "You shouldn't be worried. Ben isn't going anywhere, and neither is Hal. They're both going to be fine, Matt. They always are. They're too stubborn to not be fine."

As the words pass Maggie's lips, she almost believes them. They're almost enough to believe that Hal will be fine. But she can't believe that until she finds him, until he returns to her. When he does return to her, they'll make it through this together, as they always have and always will. They're partners. They're too close now to not make it through this together. They mean too much to each other to not make it through this, and come out on the other side, together.

**A/N: Firstly, I want to apologise for the lateness of this update. I can't believe it's been one week since my last update (one week in Australia anyway) I've been so busy, and then I hit a huge writers block and was writing really bad stuff that I didn't want to post on here. THEN I got sick. BUT I won't go on about me. Let's talk about you. All of you who read this, seriously - you are really, really awesome, and amazing. There's no other way to put it. I hope that you're enjoying where this story is, and where it is headed. And I'll continue to post as long as you guys are still interested.**

**To my lovely, lovely sister. Thank you. You're amazing for all that you help me with. I wouldn't be able to sort the terrible, bad ideas from the good ones. Thank you! :)**

**Thanks to those of you who gave me feedback, on the OC's. It was generally positive, so I'm going to keep the OC's around for a bit longer. They'll have an important role in things to come. I won't say anymore.**

**Thank you to those who have followed or favorited this story. It means so much.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Agus; who posed on chapter 42;  
Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear you think that it is a great chapter. I can do that! I will, in the future chapters, definitely add some more tender moments between Maggie and Henry.  
You're right! Maggie knows, in her heart, that it isn't Hal. She knows that something is wrong with him, and it isn't her Hal. Fingers crossed Hal doesn't die in the show, because he's awesome. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing. :)**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Guest; who posted on chapter 42;  
Wow! Thank you so much. I'm so incredibly happy to hear that. And very relieved to hear you think the OC's are good for the story, and they make sure it doesn't get boring.  
I'm really sorry for any confusion, in the previous chapter or any chapters prior to that - but Hal is completely gone. He's completely and entirely under the control of the Overlord. The Overlord has complete control of his memory, his actions and what he does, and his mind. I'm sorry that you must have been confused. It's a little difficult for me to write about Hal being the Overlord, as I was worried people might be confused by my constant use of;  
Hal does this - when it's really the Overlord doing it. (I'm sorry for any confusion)  
There will be more Maggie and Henry scenes coming up. I really enjoyed writing his character. It is incredibly difficult for her.  
BTW I took what you said, and included Maggie remembering Henry, when he was born. It doesn't go into too much detail, but in future chapters there will probably be more detailed memories on it.  
Thanks so much for reading. :)**

**I apologise for my extremely long authors notes. I always stop before the A/N becomes longer than the fic itself. I'm just really thankful and grateful.**

**I don't really like this chapter, so let me know what you think. And I promise I will be updating quicker (tomorrow. or maybe even again tonight.)  
I promise you - more action will be coming. I know this is a slow one, but it'll start picking up pace soon enough.**

**Thanks and I hope you enjoy.**

**P.s Sorry for any grammatical errors. I do check them over, but most times I miss some. Sorry in advance.**

* * *

**To any of you whose lives have been changed or affected by Sandy stay safe; I can't understand what you're going through, and I'm so sorry you have to go through it. I'm sending you positive thoughts, well wishes, and prayers, and we are all praying and thinking of you in Australia. Stay safe. You're all strong. You will get through this and come out stronger on the other side. Thinking of you all Xx**


	44. Who will love you?

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline.**

* * *

The storm only worsens, as the night continues. First, the rain comes, pelting, relentlessly, at the windows of the hospital. Then, the wind comes. It's soft, at first. It worsens, though, as things tend to, and soon the sounds of the wind outside can easily be thought to belong to howling, scratching wolves, who are attempting to claw their way inside. The water and wind is accompanied by a few cracks of lighting, moving quickly across the sky, but soon fade out to nothing.

Maggie had not expected to find Hal, in their room, but as she presses open the silver door handle, with her cold hands, she finds him, stepping out of the bathroom. The light that flickers, from the four lit candles, lights up his face which is as unemotional as it was this morning.

"Where have you been?" Maggie asks, softly but suspiciously, as she closes the bedroom door behind her. She steps towards him, holding his unwavering gaze as she does. Again, she sees a flicker of something in his eyes, but she's not entirely sure what it is she sees.

Hal replies, quickly, "I spent the morning with Doctor Glass, and the afternoon with Ben, and my Dad. Why do you ask?"

"Hal….This morning….you – I think." Maggie stops, as she allows a shaky breath of air to pass her lips. She feels her insides, closing, slowly on her. This is extremely difficult for Maggie to think about, let alone talk about it. Yet, some small, tiny part of her feels that they have to talk about it, because they have to get through this together.

"You weren't with Doctor Glass, I know that. I spoke with her. You didn't spend last night with Ben, either. I just – what's going on, Hal?" she asks, with a tone that is clear with anger, but also worry, about him.

"I'm fine." he says, with a slight tone of anger rising in his voice. "I was walking, Maggie. I wished to be alone."

Maggie shakes her head, as she continues to step towards him. "You keep saying that you're fine but I don't believe you. I know you. And this-"

"It isn't me?" he asks her.

Maggie says, with a soft, unconfident voice, "No, it's not. Have I – we need…."

She means to say that they need to fix this. They need to help each other, as they always do, through this. They need to make it through this together, because without Hal by her side, Maggie isn't entirely sure she can make it through this.

"You want to talk about the warehouse?" Hal asks, finishing her words.

"No, I don't want to. But I think….that we should." She tells him, honestly.

Maggie doesn't want to talk about it, but she knows, deep down, that they should. Perhaps, she will stop feeling nothing, and she will feel _something_ if she and Hal help each other through this. With him, by her side, she might allow herself to feel this.

He stays silent as he considers her words, and once finding the appropriate answer to them, he says, "I have some questions, if you wouldn't mind answering them?"

Maggie nods, but otherwise stays silent. She presses her lips together, and pushes her hair behind her ears, again, as she waits nervously and anxiously for Hal to speak.

"You didn't know…did you?" he asks, watching her with, perhaps, the most intensity as he ever has, as he steps closer towards her.

He's asking her whether she knew that she was pregnant, before she entered the warehouse. She didn't know. The thought had never crossed her mind before the warehouse, and after it, she couldn't allow herself to think of it.

Maggie shakes her head, and attempts to say no, she didn't know, but the word doesn't make it past her lips – they get caught in her throat. She coughs, to clear he throat, and manages to say, "No."

"And you are saddened, by the loss?" he asks her, with a hardened face, and eyes that do not falter from hers.

Maggie continues to hold his gaze – his brown eyes are empty; there are no visible emotions swirling in them.

She won't answer Hal because she can't. She can't admit that she's saddened by the loss – she is, but if she admits it, then she'll feel it, and she doesn't want to feel it again.

Hal tilts his head, slightly to the side, as he says, a little louder, "I don't understand, Maggie. How can you be saddened by what you didn't know existed, until seconds before you lost it? How can you miss what you didn't have?"

Maggie stares at Hal, with something very similar to horror in her eyes – horror at his words. Her Hal wouldn't say such things. He wouldn't. This isn't her Hal. Something has changed, something is wrong. This isn't him. She knows that, in her heart, that it's not the real Hal.

"Hal, I don't –" Maggie begins, but he speaks over her.

"You mourn something that you never knew existed!" he says, much more loudly now, and with a disbelieving and almost humorous tone.

"And you don't?!" Maggie asks, also with a louder voice. "You're not sad?! You don't miss-"

"No, I don't. I don't miss what could have been, because it wasn't. There were no attachments, no feelings, towards the baby. It's difficult to miss something that never was. You're hurting. You're mourning. So mourn. But, I won't, because I have nothing to mourn." Hal tells her, as he continues to stare at her – this time, he stares at her with a mixture of pity and darkness in his eyes.

Maggie shakes her head, and her voice is a little shaky as she says, "We need to get – through this, together. We're partners. We always-"

"The pain that you're feeling is a weakness." Hal cuts Maggie off. "You're feeling a pain that I don't understand, and I can't help you with that. I won't."

Maggie's eyes slip from Hal's gaze, to the floor beneath her feet. She stares at it, so silently, and for some time that she almost forgets Hal is in the room. But, when she looks up – she finds that he isn't in the room. The door has been closed, as he had exited it, and where he stood is as empty as the bed that she finds herself curling up into. She pulls the sheets up, over her body, and closes her eyes tightly, as the sound of the heavy rain, hitting her windows, and the howling wind, slowly puts her to sleep.

Tonight, Maggie longs to dream. She longs to dream of the mountains that she and Hal had planned to go to. She can picture the mountains – the deep, hollow caves; so cool and comforting. A rocky path of pebbles and dirt leads down to a clearing. Maggie can see the clearing so clearly – a field of purple, illuminated and lit up by an iridescent orange, purple and yellow light. Everything is peaceful down here. It's so incredibly beautiful and calm.

There is no blood, in this place. No death. No pain or loss, or grieving for those you could not save. Maggie sees Hal, next. He's already lying down, in the field of deep-purple violet. The afternoon sun is setting down, onto him, as Maggie steps towards him. Her fingers move quickly, over the flowers of lavender, and she takes her time, walking through the fields. When Maggie stands above him, Hal looks up – and those hazel eyes stare up at her. He smiles at her, as she lies down next to him. Once beside him, he pulls her in closer to him, and she rests her head onto his chest.

This is the place that Maggie longs to be. This place is free of the darkness that could very well drive her to insanity, the emptiness that causes her so much sadness, and the pain that rarely falters.

A hand, not belonging to Hal's, and not part of Maggie's dream, touches Maggie's shoulder. A voice she does not recognise immediately follows. Maggie is bought out of her dream, and back to her reality, in seconds. She opens her eyes, and in one swift movement, sits up in bed, grabs the intruder by the back of the neck and places the pocket knife, which she keeps in her pocket, to the intruder's neck – a defence mechanism.

"_Just_ Maggie – love, it's _just_ Joseph." he tells her, surprisingly calmly, as he does not fight to break free of her grasp or remove the knife that is pressed into his throat.

Maggie keeps her right hand, firmly, around the back of Joseph's neck as she continues to press the blade of the knife, which she holds in her left hand, against his throat. She holds his silent gaze, for a moment, as her heavy breathing begins to slow down. Once the realisation that it is only Joseph hits Maggie, she lowers the knife from his throat and drops her hand form the back of his neck.

After she places the knife back into its position, in the pocket of her jacket, Maggie looks up at Joseph, who is seated on the edge of her bed, watching her already. He looks better than he did earlier, Maggie observes, but still, he does not look well – certainly not well enough to be up yet.

"Sleep with a knife too, eh?" he asks her, as he scratches, slowly, at the front of his neck.

"What are you….." Maggie begins, but stops as she pushes the hair from her face, and swings her legs over the side of the bed.

Joseph continues, with a softer voice, "Sorry to be a pain, love, but – I was just coming to check in, on you. Could've picked my timing better….I mean, seeing Henry, must have been….difficult."

"Mmmm…." Maggie mutters, lowly, as she looks up at Joseph.

"I just –" Joseph begins, but stops, as he takes in a deep breath of air.

Maggie hesitates, before she says, quickly, "If you've come to tell me you're leaving, the Second Mass, then just say it, Joseph. I'd understand. This isn't your home."

"Can't leave yet – I can barely walk. I left my wheelchair, outside." Joseph says, with a slight grin on his face. "Uh, I was thinking….Henry, Bertha and I might stick 'round here, for a little bit longer….If that's fine….with you?"

"It's your decision, Joseph." Maggie tells him, softly.

Joseph nods, quickly, as he says, "Well aware of that, love. Just thought I'd let you know, Henry's been talking about you….You're one of the first friends he's made, since the invasion."

"Friends?" Maggie asks, softly.

"I wasn't prepared- prepared for this, for-for, you." Joseph stutters, as he scratches at the side of his head. "I mean – I didn't think you'd come, into the picture. An' you have, I'm not sure how to, you know, go about this."

"Well, I never expected to be in this picture." she replies, quickly.

"For now, how does….How does being friends with Henry sound? He could use one, apart from his Dad." Joseph suggests, as he lifts his gaze to Maggie's.

Joseph likes Maggie, he always has. From the start, he could see that there was something about her, that he'd seen somewhere else – in Henry. They were both incredibly brave, and strong. Joseph knew his son, so well, and could see, clearly, where, in a way, he gained a sense of that braveness and the ability to be strong, from.

Joseph can see that Maggie has missed Henry, all of these years. He wasn't able to gather much information on her, when he'd first wanted to know about Henry's birth parents. Now, he had the opportunity to get to know her, as did Henry.

He isn't sure how things would play out, now that Maggie is part of Henry's life. Joseph trusts Maggie, though, and he trusts that she won't run off with Henry in the middle of the night. He knows that there is good inside of her, he can see it in her eyes.

Joseph leaves, shortly, after their conversation. Maggie had insisted that she get the wheelchair for him, and once helping him into it, he apologises, again, for waking her, wishes her goodnight, and wheels himself from the room, closing the door behind him.

As Maggie pulls herself back into bed, and back under the sheets of the single bed she once shared with Hal, the loneliness creeps up again, as does the darkness. The idea of seeing Henry had felt good, moments ago. But whenever she is alone, she feels more vulnerable.

She has tried, for so long, to escape it – the darkness. Without Hal, she can only see the darkness. She can't find much light. She can't escape it because you can't escape something that has already has you so utterly consumed. She had lived under the delusion that she wasn't already consumed by the darkness.

As the morning sun rose, the evening storm faded, completely, from the sky, and left in its place a surprisingly calm orange and yellow sunrise. Maggie had been awake, to watch the sun rise.

In all honesty, without Hal, she found it terribly difficult to sleep. She would find herself, on these sleepless nights, thinking of happier times. It was hard to think of a time when she was truly, completely, happy. The first memory that had appeared, before her eyes, as if she was watching a film, was the day that she and Hal had spent in the meadow. They were both so happy that day.

That memory doesn't last long, though, and it was quickly replaced with an image of her mother and father – they're sitting upright, in their large king size bed, smiling. It's father's day. She knows this because he would always wear the same pyjamas on father's day – they had been a present, from Maggie and Robbie. The pyjamas were a dark blue, with the brightest, deepest coloured orange teddy-bears covering them. She and Robbie had chosen them, years ago, and despite that they'd become worn, over the years, he had still worn them each father's day. Maggie guesses that she would be either nine or ten. She knows is that Robbie is there – so it's before she was seventeen, before the cancer – just _before_ all of this.

She's watching the memory like she would watch a film – it's not from her perspective. She's watching it almost like she's seeing it from above. She sees herself, running towards her parent's room, with Robbie right by her side. He looks so beautiful. The two of them are grinning, ear to ear, as they burst inside their parent's room. At first, her mother and father are pretending that they are sleeping. Robbie and Maggie move, with their hands bundled with presents and handmade cards, towards the bed, as silently as they can – they're both fighting the giggles, which threaten to come, as they step towards the bed.

They, simultaneously, jump onto their parent's bed – to wake them. Their father jumps upwards, and begins tickling the both of them, until they're crying from laughing and begging him to stop. Maggie could stay here all day; in this part of her mind. She could, if it was possibly, remain in this memory, because it is filled with such love, and happiness.

Waking, alone, to an empty room, is disappointing for Maggie – she hadn't expected them to be there, when she woke. Or maybe she had. She wasn't sure what she had expected. It was hard, though, waking alone. What was the hardest, however, was that she had _that_. She once had that; a family, filled with love, and happiness, and hope. Waking alone was terribly difficult because she had once woken to the beautiful smiles of her family.

It doesn't feel real, when Maggie thinks about it, when she thinks about them. It feels like a dream, or someone else's memory, because it was so long ago. It feels like decades ago, but it wasn't. She never realised how truly lucky she was, in that home, until it was shattered and everything was taken away from her.

She couldn't deny that anymore. Everything had been taken from her – her parents, her brother, her health, her life, her son, her hope, her light and now, Hal.

Maggie remembered, with happiness and agony, the day that Henry had been born. She remembered the first, and only time, she had held him in her arms. Her hands had been shaking, as they'd lowered him into her arms – they had given her one minute. One minute to hold her baby boy, before he was taken away from her – for the best, she had thought to herself. But, as she had held her boy in her arms, she had wished that he wasn't going away. She had wished that she had been somewhere else, and that she could keep her boy in her arms, always. He had been so tiny, as a baby – but he had been healthy. She'd never forget those eyes, as they looked straight into hers, for the first time. Those blue eyes would haunt her, for the next years to come. Those eyes had the power to make her feel such happiness at times and such sadness and guilt at others.

She had considered herself to be a bad person – a horrible one, because of the way she felt, sometimes, because, at times, she had been, something very close to, jealous of those whose families remained, strong and safe, because had what they had. And she had lost it before she had found a way to save it. And that was enough to destroy a person – knowing you could have saved something, but you were too late.

Maggie hadn't wanted to feel this way, because it was killing her inside. She could switch it off, most of the time. She was good at that, switching off her feelings. She'd been good at it since she had gotten the cancer. The cancer that, at times, she wish had of led to her death, because then she wouldn't have endured what she did. She wouldn't have been there to lose her mother and father, her brother, her son, and all others on the way. She wouldn't have had to live through what Pope's gang did to her – but, she didn't really make it through what they did alive. She didn't live through what they did. She came out a little dead on the inside, because of them. They had killed another part of her, the part that the cancer hadn't killed, and the part that losing her family hadn't destroyed.

She didn't think it was possible to feel as much pain as she had felt when she had the cancer. It was absolutely draining and horrible. But, she had felt more pain, again, and again.

She never thought she'd return from it. She thought it was impossible to rise from that much pain, and loss, and darkness. Somehow, she managed to return. She'd found her strength in Hal, and had rose from the darkness.

But, as she had found her strength in Hal, she had also found her weakness in him. He was the first person she had _truly_ cared about, in years. She would give, and do, anything for him. That weakened her. It returned her to how she was before – it was the way she had cared for her parents, and her brother. She would have done anything to save them. Yet, she couldn't do anything. Just as now, she felt helpless again with Hal.

Hal had been the first person, in so very long, that she had trusted. She had sworn to herself, countless times, that she'd never trust another again. It'd been too painful, in the past, to trust. Yet, she had, somehow, wound up trusting Hal. It had been unintentional. She had been determined to not form any bonds with anyone in the Second Mass, because it would be easier that way.

It was easier, without emotion and feeling. That was what she had told herself. Somehow, she had found herself, becoming closer to Hal. He had changed, so very much, in the months of his father's absence – and that was what had, initially, drawn Maggie closer to him. He'd become stronger, braver, and she had respected that. They'd worked together – they'd worked well together, as partners. What had convinced Maggie, in the end, to become closer to Hal was his good heart.

His heart was so very good, and pure, and strong.

If Maggie lies, quiet enough, she can still hear Hal's words in her ears – his promises to her.

Hal had promised her; _"I won't hurt you, ever again, and I'm never going anywhere." _

He had told her, _"I'm yours, as long as you want me."_

Maggie had still wanted him. She would always want him. Nothing; no words, and no time, could change that. Nothing would. He would always be a part of her. Throughout the good times, and the bad, darker times, she would continue to want him, always.

He would find his way back to her, just as she had always found her way back to him.

Ben wasn't sure how long he had been standing, at the side of the hospital, near the edge of the forest, lit up by the rays of the morning light, when Hal had appeared. He'd come, silently, from behind Ben, and had stood beside him, not saying a word.

"You're up early." Ben comments, as he turns to face Hal.

Ben observes, from Hal's pale and worn expression that he hasn't slept, again. He wonders where his brother gets to, at night, but decides against asking, because he knows that if Hal wants to talk, he will.

He looks away from Hal, to the forest in front of them, and says, "Dai's up, and better. It's like nothing happened to him."

"That's great." Hal replies, with a slightly unenthusiastic ring to his tone.

"You know, Ben…I was thinking," Hal begins, as he looks up from the ground to meet Ben's eyes. "Have they ever spoken to you about it?" he asks Ben.

"What?" Ben asks, with a creased forehead.

"Sorry." Hal says, quickly. "I meant to say, have the skitters ever shown you their world?"

The frown stays on Ben's tired features, as he turns to look at his brother. "What's with this new-found curiosity, into the skitters and their world?" Ben asks, a little suspiciously, as he continues to watch Hal.

Hal doesn't look at him, as he says, with an impassive tone, "As I said earlier, Ben, I was ignorant. I want to learn as much as I can."

Still with the frown on his face, Ben asks, "Really?"

Hal continues to stare out at the thick, looming, dark trees of the forest. He stares at a particular tree – the largest one. His eyes do not move from it as he says, "Yes. So have they told you?"

Ben nods, and says, without a frown on his face and with a softer voice, "Yep. Red-Eye showed me."

Ben hasn't stopped thinking of Red-Eye, and the other rebel skitters. He wonders, and worries, for them, and hopes that they are all still alive – especially Red-Eye.

Hal lifts his eyes, finally, to meet Ben, and asks, "Could he show me?"

Ben manages to keep the frown off of his face, despite his confusion, "You want to see it? Why –"

"I want to know, Ben. Isn't that good enough? I thought you'd be happy, I was showing an interest." Hal replies, quickly, with a slight frown and a defensive, slightly angry, tone.

Ben nods, and says with a lower voice, "Yep. OK. I'm sorry….."

Hal, while still holding Ben's gaze, asks, "Can Red-Eye show me?"

Ben hesitates for a moment as he considers whether he will tell Hal or not. His brother's sudden interest and curiosity into the skitters and the skitters home world is something that Ben finds extremely odd, since Hal has always only wanted to kill the skitters. But, Ben finds that he wants to tell Hal, he wants to share it with his brother.

Ben shrugs, slightly, and mutters, "I don't know if he's alive, Hal."

Hal nods, and as he lowers his gaze from Hal's, he says, "Could you find a way – I just….I'm sorry, I'm asking too much of you. Forget that I asked, Ben."

Ben shakes his head, slowly, and says, "I'm going on a scout, today, with Anthony. We're taking the bikes. If I can get into contact with him, or any of the other rebel skitters, I'll try."

Hal turns to Ben, with a small smile on his face, and says, "Thank you, Ben. You have no idea what this means."

"I'll see you later." Tom tells Anne, with a smile on his face, as he presses a quick kiss to her lips, before stepping away from her. He wants to spend the day with her, but he needs to speak with Weaver.

Tom moves, at a quick pace, towards Weaver's room, and upon reaching it he is slightly surprised to find Logan Hatchet, accompanied by the man Tom recognises as Broderick Sweeney, leaving the room. As the two of them catch sight of Tom, standing outside of Weaver's room, they both nod their heads, at him, and continue moving down the hallway.

"What was that about?" Tom asks Weaver, as he steps through and closes the door to the room that the Captain has set up with various maps and other items.

"You want a drink, Tom?" Weaver asks, as he moves towards the cabinet on which a bottle of scotch and some glasses rest.

"No thanks, Dan. What was that about? Tom asks, both curiously and a little suspiciously, as he steps towards Weaver.

"Gunnery Sergeant Sweeney and First Sergeant Hatchet were discussing the disappearance of Billy." Weaver tells Tom, after letting out a small sigh. "There's been no sign of him. They believe he may have run away, Tom."

With a small frown on his face, and the tiniest smile of disbelief, Tom says, "Why – They've been here a few days. None of them met Billy. They didn't know him. So, Dan, I don't think that they would know whether he would have walked out or not."

Dan turns around, to look at Tom, and says, "Well, what do you think, Tom? Because there's no sign of him anywhere – no body, no blood, no signs of struggle and no one else has disappeared."

Tom lets a small breath of air pass his lips, before he says, "He left his bag. He left all of his belongings, behind. No weapons were taken, no food has been taken. He took nothing. Besides, I know him, and Billy is a good man. He wouldn't have abandoned his family. I don't think he walked out. We need to widen our search for him."

Weaver nods, as he steps towards Tom, and with a calm voice he says, "I agree with you, Tom. I do. But, we need to be focusing on the-"

Tom shakes his head as he says, quickly and loudly, "He's a civilian, Dan. We need to protect the civilians, at any cost."

They will _always_ protect the civilians, at any cost, because the civilians are the future of the Second Mass, and of the world.

"Can we – Can we go play outside?" Benjamin asks, with a large grin on his face, as he stares up at Pope.

"Yeah, can we?" Matt asks, also with a small smile that is supposed to convince Pope to allow them to go outside.

Pope had, at first, refused. But that was two hours ago. And the two of them had been following him around, pleading and smiling, asking to play outside.

"OK. OK." Pope says, with his hands up in the air, to stop them from begging any further. He looks from Benjamin, to Matt, and with a slight frown on his face, but a smile twitching on his lips, he says, "Ben, Goldilocks, You've got one hour. Don't go out far."

Maggie had volunteered to go, on search for Billy, for the day, but only under the conditions that she was to go with Tector. She had asked to go with Tector because she trusted him, and he trusted her, and he didn't push her to talk, or ask her how she was with sympathetic eyes.

Weaver had told her she could go with Tector, but when Maggie had stepped outside the front doors of the hospital, she did not find Tector waiting, but rather Isaac. He stood still, unmoving, and silent, as he waited by the stairs of the hospital for Maggie.

"Where's Tector?" Maggie asks, with a slightly angry tone, as she steps down towards Isaac.

He lifts his head, to look up at her, and with an impassive face and tone, he says, "Captain Weaver is determined to continue with the integration of our two groups."

"Where's Tector?" she repeats, with a clear anger in her voice this time.

Isaac turns, to face Maggie completely, and steps towards her. He coughs, to clear his throat once, and says, "Captain Weaver is determined that we continue with the method of integration. The integration can only lead to greater things. We will become stronger, because of it. I do understand that this is not what you may have wanted, but it is the Captain's orders, and I will follow his orders, and his wishes, not yours."

"OK." Maggie answers, with a softer voice, as she finally accepts his words. "This doesn't mean we're friends." she adds, with a lower voice, and slightly wary gaze.

Isaac nods at this, and replies, with the tiniest hint of a smile, "I wouldn't dare suggest such ridiculous things, Maggie."

Maggie had, reluctantly, agreed to go with Isaac instead of Tector because if it was what the Captain wanted, she would oblige and follow his orders. The silence had, mostly, stayed between Maggie and Isaac, as they trudged through the thick bushes, tall, dark, looming trees and damp puddles of mud, which all looked similar to Maggie.

For most of their search Maggie had thought of two things – Billy and Hal.

Her thoughts of Billy were as dark as her thoughts of Hal. She was worried about both of them. She didn't know Billy as well as she knew Hal, but at times she wasn't sure how well she knew Hal. It was different this time, with Hal. Something was different, with him. He wasn't the Hal that she knew. He was still there; parts of him were. However, there were parts of him that she noticed were gone.

His smile – she hadn't seen that in what felt like years. His smile which held so much power over her, caused her to feel so many things, and could make her feel better, safer, lighter, and happier all at once.

There was something missing in his eyes. Maggie wasn't quite sure what it was that was missing, but there was something gone. They seemed, almost, darker. He could be struggling, Maggie had assumed – no, it was something that she had repeatedly told herself. Hal was struggling with all that they had been through, in these past weeks. It was too much for him, and he was distancing himself from her. That was the only explanation that Maggie could find for the emptiness she occasionally caught in his eyes, or the emptiness in his gaze. And his words – those few words had almost been enough to crush Maggie entirely. She feared that if it wasn't for Henry's return, she would have crumbled entirely. Hal had asked Maggie how she missed something she never had.

She didn't understand how he wasn't feeling a single emotion over this. They had lost something. She wasn't allowing herself to feel anything for their loss, and what could have been, yet, because it was too painful without Hal by her side. And he wasn't by her side.

Her thoughts of Hal, and of Billy, are interrupted by Isaac, who had kept his distance from Maggie for most of the search, always trailing a few feet behind, watching her silently and with curiosity.

Isaac finds Maggie quite interesting. He isn't sure what it is about her that has caught his attention.

"So Maggie, am I any closer to learning your last name?" he asks her, with a small smile on his face, as he fastens his pace, so that he may wall beside her.

Maggie replies, quickly, "I told you, I don't have one."

Isaac is silent, for a moment, and Maggie believes he may silent. That is, until he says, loudly, "You're like Cher, in a way."

Maggie raises her eyebrows slightly, at Isaac's repeat references to her being like Cher, and asks, "Cher?"

"Ah, no, actually…." Isaac begins, and stops to consider his words. "The more I consider the very idea of you being like Cher, the more I realise you're very far from her. You're more like Heathcliff." he adds, with a small smile of the slightest amusement on his face.

"Heathcliff?" Maggie asks, still maintaining her emotionless, and unreadable, expression towards Isaac.

Isaac nods, enthusiastically, and continues with a softer voice, "Mmm. I think so. The two of you are strikingly similar."

Maggie turns to look at Isaac, finally, and watches him, silently, for a brief second. Finally, she asks, "How is that?"

Isaac replies, very quickly, as though he had been thinking of the words to answer with already. "You don't have a last name, nor did Heathcliff." he begins, also watching her. "You seem that of a shady kind of character. I mean that with no offense, at all, Maggie. Now, I see shady isn't the correct word. Perhaps, drifter, would better suit? …..I simply mean you seem as though you're a person with a past."

"Mmmm…" she mutters, in response to his words.

"And…." Isaac begins, but stops as he steps forward, towards Maggie, so that he's only a few feet away from her. "If I look closely enough…" he continues. "You seem to have the beginnings of a beard, as he did."

Then the grin, which Maggie remembers as being both goofy and slightly annoying, appears on Isaac's face.

The look that Maggie returns to Isaac is one of that being unimpressed and angered by his words.

"OK. I was – I was joking." Isaac tells her, the smile almost completely gone from his face, as he raises his hands in the air to indicate that he meant no harm. "I'm just – we're friends, I was joking, Maggie. Lighten up." he finishes, with the tiniest hint of a smile.

She asks Isaac, with an impassive face and tone, "He had a temper, didn't he?"

"That he did." Isaac nods, as he lowers his hands. "He also had a love that consumed him, entirely. There was not a part of him that did not belong to her. I can only assume you have been, or are, in that current situation…"

Maggie's silence gives Isaac the answer to the question he didn't ask. He decides not to press her, any further, and instead compliments and reassures her that she doesn't have anything remotely close to a beard on her features.

Ben and Anthony had returned from the scout, empty handed – mostly empty handed. Ben had returned, however, with the knowledge that Red-Eye was alive. He was, however, too weak to come, to show Eleedium to Hal. Red-Eye had sent another rebel skitter, who had followed Ben and Anthony back to the hospital, to show Eleedium to Hal.

Ben was extremely grateful for this. Red-Eye had informed Ben that he would heal, soon enough, and that they could continue with the war, together, and that they would win it, together.

Once arriving back at the hospital, Ben had failed to find Hal anywhere inside, so he had searched around the outside of the hospital. Finally, he had decided to check down, in the forest, where he had caught Hal the other night. And much to Ben's surprise, he had found Hal. Standing in a similar spot, before the running water – he stood silent and unmoving. However, at the sound of Ben's footsteps behind him, Hal spoke.

"You've returned early." Hal comments, as he turns, quickly, to face his brother.

"Red-Eye is alive, but he's not well enough to make the visit." Ben tells Hal, as he steps down towards him. "But, you can still see Eleedium."

"How is that?" he asks, with a slightly tilted head.

Hal frowns, slightly, as he follows Ben's gaze – a skitter, a rebel one he guesses, standing before them. It moves towards Hal and without any sign or warning, it takes control of his body. The spikes on Hal's back light up – and for a moment he is completely controlled by the skitter, who, is not only controlling Hal but has access to every thought or memory in his body. Because of this unlimited access and power, it gains the knowledge of who he _really_ is right now.

The skitter backs away from Ben and Hal, at first, as it is, for a moment, unsure of what it was that it accessed in the humans mind. But it knows, all too well, who it is; the Espheni – the Overlord. It makes a chittering sound, as it edges, cautiously and slowly towards Ben.

Hal moves, quicker than the skitter, before he can reveal his true identity to Ben Mason. He lowers his hand, slightly but speedily, to a rock, on the ground beside him. He holds it tightly in his hand, and before Ben Mason can turn around, he raises it, and with a strong force that will leave him unconscious, he smashes the rock into the back of Ben's head.

The force hits Ben just as he is turning his head, to look towards Hal – he stumbles forward, and slumps down onto the rocks, unconscious from the moment the rock had hit his head. Ben's body lies, slumped, on the rocks – blood trickles, slowly, down the back of his head; it flows out from the gash that the rock had cut into his head. It wasn't deep enough to kill him, or injure him seriously, he had made sure of that when determining the size of the rock and the location that he would hit him in.

Hal's eyes move up to the rebel skitter, who instead of running, jumps forward at him. It makes a low chittering, almost hissing sound, as it moves towards him, quickly. Despite Hal's agility – he isn't fast enough to miss the skitters incoming blow. It raises its leg, the first leg on left side of its body, to the human, and pierces it, under his collar bone, and into his right shoulder.

Hal makes no sound, he gives no sign that he is in pain as he is pushed backwards, into the tree behind him. Despite the excruciating pain, at the moment, but he still remains silent. Hal stands; half slumped against the tree that he is pinned against, by the skitter. The skitter presses its pincer, a little deeper, into the human – an attempt to continue to weaken him.

A slight grimace of pain appears on Hal's face, but as he looks into the skitters eyes, the grimace turns into a half-smile. Hal maintains eye contact, with the skitter, as he rests his head back, on the tree behind him.

Hal's right hand, which had fallen to his side, reaches towards the back of his pants – his fingers find the knife that rests, firmly, between his pants and his back – the knife that he'd placed there earlier that day. In a swift movement, that the skitter does not expect from the human, he shoves his hand inside its mouth and presses the knife, stabbing it, in the soft spot of its mouth– the part that is guaranteed to kill any skitter.

He knows this because from the human's memory, he can see that this method has been successful by another before – Anne Glass, to be exact.

The skitter dies, almost instantly, and slumps down, on the ground beneath Hal, and not too far from Ben's unconscious body. Once done, he carelessly discards the knife to the ground, a few feet away. It is of no concern to him if a human were to find the weapon.

He is pleased, that another traitor had been killed; however he is disappointed that he had not been successful in taking out the leader of the traitors. He would, in time, eradicate all traitors, and humans. It was only a matter of time before they reached their deaths. That time would come soon.

"You are out very far, for someone who is alone, aren't you, Benjamin?" Hal asks, loudly, as he turns, slowly as his human body is weakening, to view the frightened, young face of the boy, watching from the shadows.

**A/N: First, I want to apologise for the lateness of my update. Things have been busier than expected lately, and then I hit a writer's block for all of my stories, which really sucked. **

**Dear Guest reviewer, Agus; who posted on chapter 43;  
Hey, :) I'm happy to hear you liked this chapter. No, Matt hasn't found out that Hal is not the real Hal, he was just worrying about his brother, I'm sorry for any confusion! I'm sorry again for any confusion, but no he's not falling for Maggie, it's not a love triangle, and it's not another guy falling in love with her, it's just a friendship because I liked his character and I thought it would be interesting to pair the two together, as potential friends. Thank you so very much for reading.**

**Dear Guest reviewer Guest, who posted on chapter 43;  
You started off with the words; Please, can you upload?  
I'm so sorry for the late upload. Yes I have been busy, and I'm sorry for the late update. I'm sorry that it was really late. I'm happy to hear you thought that the chapter was awesome.  
Thanks for hanging in there, and still reading, even when I'm late on updates. :) Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; who posted as Molly, on chapter 43;  
I'm so happy to hear that you love Isaac and you think he's a fabulous edition to the characters! That makes me so happy and relieved because I was worried about the new characters. I'm glad you loved his character! Isaac will be in more upcoming chapters :) And I've got some interesting things planned for him. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing.  
**

**Dear Guest reviewer Guest; who posted on chapter 43;  
Hi! :) No problem whatsoever. I'm sorry for any confusion I may have caused. Yes, things are bad, but they can only get better, right? Soon enough :) Yes I did! Better times will be coming.  
You're right there. She is making a mistake about Hal being odd, but of course, she just guesses that it has something to do with what happened at the warehouse, and nothing to do with something being wrong with him.  
Maggie hasn't been the first to notice or understand why Hal is really acting strange, so Ben may very well be the first to find out.  
Maggie will let herself live, and will come out of the grief soon enough :)  
I'm so happy to hear you really liked Isaac, I'm very relieved by that! Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear you're still loving it. Hope you continue to!**

**Dear Guest reviewer Guest; who posted saying; Please, can you upload?  
****I'm so sorry, I've been so much busier than I usually am. I promise the updates will be coming more frequently from now. Sorry for the wait.**

**I'm so sorry for the really late update. I'll make it up to you guys, you're all awesome, and I'm sorry. ****More Henry and Maggie scenes coming up, I promise!**

**Also, I'm sorry for any grammatical errors or mistakes, I apologise in advance .**

* * *

**My ongoing thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes are with those of you whose lives were impacted or changed in anyway by Sandy. You're all strong, and you'll make it through this better, and stronger than before. Thinking of you Xxx**


	45. Now all your love is wasted

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline.)**

* * *

"Come closer, Benjamin." Hal says, with a frighteningly calm voice, as he takes a step towards Benjamin.

Hal's face continues to hold the same emotionless expression, as he keeps his eyes on the boy he registers as Benjamin. He had planned to move closer to the boy, but he finds himself suddenly weakened. His eyes move down, rigidly, to his chest, and for a brief second, he observes the crimson red that has spilled out of the wound. He lifts his hand, slowly and almost robotically, to where the wound is. The crimson spills down, on to his fingers, and feels warm as it trickles down, along them, and to his elbow.

He has no concern for this wound, as Ben Mason's body will still, if needed, be use-able And so, he drops his arm and looks up, to Benjamin, who is still and unmoving – for a moment.

Then, Benjamin does the only thing that he can think to do, in this extremely frightening and confusing moment – he runs. Benjamin turns on his heels, and begins running, as fast as he can, back towards Matt, and towards his Dad. He wishes that he had stayed with Matt, or that his Dad could have been out, with them. His Dad would have protected him.

Benjamin and Matt had come out, playing together, but in a game of hide and seek; Benjamin had strayed too far and had found himself, lost and confused, and watching something he didn't quite understand.

He doesn't understand why the man he recognises as Matt's older brother, Hal Mason, had hit his own brother, Ben, in the back of the head with a rock. He doesn't understand why he had killed the skitter. He doesn't understand anything that has occurred, and that frightens him.

Hal struggles to keep up with Benjamin, as he finds that his body has become significantly weaker, due to the loss of blood. He finds that he is limping, on the left side of his human form, which was injured.

His inability to keep up with the young boy is not a problem, as Karen appears, seemingly, out of thin air. She blocks Benjamin's path, and steps towards him, with a smile that is supposed to be warm and comforting towards the child, but is more malicious and taunting than anything else.

Once Hal is closer to Benjamin, he steps past Karen and says, "Remove it."

Karen obediently obliges and silently moves past them, down towards where the body of the dead skitter lies. She will remove it, as her Master orders her to. She will remove the body with pleasure.

Hal kneels down, slowly, in front of Benjamin, who is shaking with fear and nerves. "You're scared, aren't you, Benjamin?" he asks, unsympathetically. "You don't have to be scared. You don't have to embrace it. But you will embrace it because you do not know better. It is what the _humans_ have taught, and forced, you to do. Fear is a weakness that will lead to the death of you all."

Pure hatred and disgust drips of his words; a particular emphasis is placed on the word _humans_. It's as though saying the very word causes him much disgust, and hatred, towards the human race.

Benjamin remains still, apart from his knees and hands which are shaking ever so slightly. He is trying to stay calm, to stay strong, because that is all that is keeping him together at this point. Benjamin does not look up at Hal, but rather stares down, ignoring all other surroundings, at the ground beneath his feet. He continues to stare at it because, perhaps, it is all a dream. If he doesn't acknowledge the monster, if he pretends that it isn't here with him, it could go away.

"Benjamin, look up at me." Hal tells him, with a voice that is surprisingly, and shockingly, calm, and holds no sinister tone.

Benjamin lifts his eyes, very slowly and cautiously, up to Hal. "P-Please…." he begins, with a bottom lip that is trembling, slightly. "I don't-I don't want to die."

"You will die in time, Benjamin. As will the rest of your wretched, barbaric, human race. But, you will not die today, because I pity you. I pity what these humans have moulded you into." Hal says, with a hardened, cold expression on his face. "If you speak a single word of what you have witnessed…" Hal begins, almost hissing. He stops, momentarily, and then continues to speak in a sadistic, maddening tone, as he says, "I will kill your father, Benjamin. I will drag out his death, and cause him pain in ways you have not imagined to be possible. All the while, he will be screaming out _your_ name. I will keep him alive, as he begs, and screams, and pleads, and sobs for death. I will keep you alive, just to witness what you have done, what pain you have caused your father, and then you will die."

The afternoon sun disappears, slowly, from the calm, almost orange, sky, and begins to make its way towards the hills, on which it will set peacefully. The air is much cooler, now, than earlier in the day. The glistening, flickering light that comes from the warm, soft sun descends down, through the higher leaves and branches of the trees in the forest, and falls down on to whatever lies beneath.

Pope and Tector had been outside of the hospital, on patrol, when they had heard a voice coming from the woods. Both had stayed, at a stand-still, with weapons raised, because the voice could belong to that of one of Karen's minions, and could very well be an attempt to lead them into a trap.

"I need-" Hal begins to say, as he nears closer to the hospital, with Ben over his shoulder.

He had tried to carry Ben Mason back towards the hospital but had found that his human body, with its new injury, could not carry him for a sustained period of time. He had carried Ben Mason, in his arms, until they had been less than a mile out, and then he had slung the human over his shoulder, and moved towards the hospital.

"I need some….." Hal calls out, a little louder, and with a fake ring of panic to his voice.

The Overlord was not panicked, though. Things were going according to the plan, and he was more than pleased. The rouse would work, efficiently, in his favour. Hal would tell them all that they were attacked, by a group of skitters. This news would cause both suspicion and fear of the skitters, as Hal would not specify that they were enemy skitters.

This newfound fear and suspicion would lead to irrationality, which would result in poor and quickly made decisions which would, ultimately, result in weakening them further.

Tector turns, cautiously and briefly, to look at Pope, with a slight frown on his face. Pope, who is already frowning, edges closer towards the forest, with Tector by his side.

"I need some help!" Hal yells out, much louder, as he breaks through the shrubbery and trees of the forest and steps out before Tector and Pope. "His head," Hal tells them, as he feigns concern and worry.

"Hal, what happened?" Tector asks, extremely worried for both brothers, as Pope follows him towards Hal's side.

Hal shakes his head, repeatedly, as he says, "I don't – I don't know."

Hal steps to the side, as he allows Pope to put one arm underneath Ben's right arm, Tector does the same. They move quickly, with Ben over their shoulders, through the side door of the hospital, inside. Hal trails behind them, because he is slower than the two of them, and they do not wait for him because they cannot afford to. If Ben is injured, he must be treated immediately. They assume, because Hal was walking, that he is not as injured as Ben.

Anne, who was walking the corridor with Tom, spots Ben, Tector, Pope and Hal before Tom does. She pulls away from Tom, quickly, and as she does he follows her gaze towards his injured son's.

Tom's heart comes close to stopping in his chest, as he rushes down towards Ben, and Hal.

"In through here," Anne tells Pope and Tector, as she directs them towards an empty, nearby, room.

"What happened to him?" Tom asks, unable to hide the panic that rings through the room, as he looks from an unconscious Ben to Hal, who has only caught up with them now.

Hal hesitates, before he says, quickly, "I don't – A skitter….."

"A skitter?" Tom questions, still frowning, as he turns back to look at Ben.

Anne looks up, briefly at Tom, as she quickly says, "His head – it appears as though he's been hit in the back of the head, by a rock…maybe, a solid object."

"We were out, patrolling, and, uh – this skitter, it…." Hal begins, but stops as he presses his hand to his chest – it's all part of the act.

"Skitters can't pick up rocks, Hal." Tom comments, with a deeper frown on his tired face.

"There was a skitter, in the forest?!" Pope asks, loudly, cutting in on Tom and Hal's conversation.

Pope hasn't seen Benjamin or Matt since this morning, when he'd allowed them out into the forest. He'd given them an hour, but they'd been much longer than that, and he'd assumed that they'd found their way back to the hospital.

Pope doesn't have the time to wait for Hal's answer. Instead, he pulls his gun off of his shoulder, holds it firmly in his hand, and speeds out of the room. He doesn't tell Tom that Matt was, or still could be, out there because it seems like Mason already has enough on, at the moment, without the added knowledge that his third son might also be injured or in trouble.

Hal steps back, away from Tom – slowly, and unsteadily, while holding Tom's uncertain gaze.

"You're bleeding, Hal." Tector says, as he catches sight of the blood on Hal's black shirt.

Tector hadn't noticed it earlier and silently curses himself because he considers Hal to be a friend, to him, and he didn't notice that his friend had been injured.

"You believe that _I_ did this, to my brother?" Hal asks, angrily; feigning anger, betrayal, and confusion.

Hal's eyes are filled with a betrayal that is new to Tom, and he cannot stop the guilt that overcomes him at this moment. The thought didn't cross his mind that Hal did this, not for a second, but it would be incredibly difficult for skitters to pick up rocks. Tom just wants to know the truth. That's all he wants to know; the truth of how his sons were injured, again.

"Tector, can you go get Lourdes, please?" Anne asks, as she continues to tend to Ben's injury.

Tector nods, silently, and obliges by stepping out of the room, in search of Lourdes.

Hal takes another, bigger, step away from Tom. "The skitter came towards us, Ben slipped and hit his head, on a rock. I wounded it…."

Tom, who continues to hold his son's almost empty gaze, says, softly, "Hal….."

"You need to stay here, Hal." Anne tells Hal, without looking up at him, as she continues to, quickly and efficiently, tend to Ben. "You've lost blood-"

"This is not what I need." Hal replies, confidently.

He turns, to step out of the room, but stops as a young woman, whom he quickly identifies as Lourdes, appears before him.

"Why don't you come next door, Hal? I can help you, in there." Lourdes tells Hal, softly, and with a kind, warm smile.

Hal hesitates, but accepts her offer, as it would be a much simpler way for him to receive treatment to the wound that the human received from the skitter. Doctor Glass would insist on inspecting the spikes on the human's back, as Doctor Kadar had earlier. Whereas, he could easily convince Lourdes that Doctor Kadar had assessed the spikes and assured him that he was fine.

Hal moves slowly, and stiffly, into the room, behind Lourdes. She waits for him to enter, and once inside she closes the door and indicates to where he should sit.

Hal unbuttons the front of his garment, slowly, and just enough so that she will be able to tend to the wound, and nothing more. Lourdes attempts to make conversation with the unusually quiet Hal, but after a few failed attempts, where Hal would simply reply with a low grunt, she tends to his wound in silence. It isn't too deep, and won't need any stitches. Lourdes cleans the wound, and covers it with a non-stick, bandage, that should assist it in healing.

As she presses the bandage across Hal's chest, Lourdes can't help but feel sadness, and guilt, towards Hal. He, and his family, has been through so very much, as has everyone else in the Second Mass. She doesn't question Hal, or continue talking to him because she can see that he has somewhere else he'd rather be. After fixing his wound, she smiles at him, tells him he should be fine, and leaves him in the room, to be alone as he wished to be.

Pope had found Benjamin and Matt, at the very edge of the hospital – both alive, with no wounds or any signs that they were injured. They both told Pope that they hadn't come across a skitter in the forest, because they hadn't gone in too far.

Pope had, instead of telling Matt what had happened to his brothers, sent Benjamin and Matt up to his room – where they could play, or do whatever they wanted. They just had to stay inside his room. That was what Pope had told them, and from his current mood, which Benjamin and Matt both observed as not being a particular good one, they obliged without any objections.

Pope was worried, that was all. He was slightly irritated, not by the two of them, but by the skitters. The Second Mass would, very likely, be moving on, now, from the hospital. He was sure of that now. The Second Mass would move as far away from this location, as possible. But, Pope knew it was likely that Captain Weaver would sent out groups of scouts, in search for the skitters first.

As Pope had stood, silently, and in a momentary daze, at the side of the hospital, his hand had fallen to this gun, instantly, at the sound of something coming from the thick, dark green shrubbery before him – he raises his rifle, towards whomever might be stepping out – human or skitter. Out of the shrubbery steps Maggie, followed by one of the men that Pope recognises as a Marine.

"Just us, Pope. It's just us." Maggie says, cautiously, after she quickly notes Pope's somewhat stressed appearance.

Pope lowers his rifle, mutters something to himself that neither Maggie nor Isaac hear, and steps away from them.

"Who did you think we were?" Isaac asks, curiously, as he steps after Pope.

Pope makes a low noise, similar to that of a growl or a grunt, and turns away from Isaac, ignoring his question. He looks towards Maggie, who has a slight frown on her tired and worn features, and tells her, "Might wanna head on inside, Maggie….Got a lil' bit of a Mason family situation."

As the words pass Pope's lips, Maggie can hear a slightly bitter ring to his tone at that last part of the sentence. Mason_ family_ – _family_. Neither Maggie nor Pope's family made it through the invasion, not entirely, and to some extent, the Masons are still a family. They made it through, almost complete, while others lost everyone and everything they ever held dear.

"Mason family?" Isaac questions, with a slight rise of his eyebrow, as he looks up at Pope, but finds he has already stormed away.

Isaac looks back at Maggie, who glances at him, very quickly, before moving, as quickly as she can, towards the hospital.

"Still a speedy little thing, aren't you, Maggie?" Isaac asks, with a slight smile, as he follows after her.

"Our search is over." she tells him, bluntly.

Their search is over. There is no reason for the two of them to spend any time together now. Now, Isaac can go back to his friends, and Maggie can go and find hers. She can find Hal, and make sure that he is alright. She can be there, for him, and help him get better. She can keep him safe.

"So, you're part of the Mason family – Wait….Maggie Mason?" Isaac asks, questioning if Maggie is Tom Mason's daughter, which would make her last name Mason.

Maggie shakes her head, but otherwise stays silent, as she moves through the front doors of the hospital. She's not sure where she will find Hal – but she will find him. She had, at first, panicked at Pope's words, about a Mason family situation, but she'd convinced herself to calm down, very quickly, because it could very well be something small, or nothing.

"Maggie Mason." Isaac repeats, as he catches up to Maggie's pace, and continues to walk beside her. "Maggie Mason. It's got a sort of ring to it." he adds.

Maggie stops abruptly, and turns towards Isaac with a look that conveys that she is less than impressed, and tired, and she says, "I'm not Maggie Mason, Isaac. I – uh, my partner is Hal Mason."

Isaac stops, and looks down at Maggie, slightly puzzled, as he questions, "Partner?"

"For patrol." she tells him.

"That all?" he asks her, a little curiously, as he continues to hold her almost empty gaze.

Maggie replies, quickly, with a cold expression, "We're done here, Isaac. OK? We're done."

Maggie does not come across Hal, on her thorough search of the hospital. She does, however, come across Tom, stepping out of one of the hospital room's with Anne. Maggie speeds towards them, and is by their side before either catch sight of her.

"Is Hal in there?" Maggie asks, as she looks, worriedly, from Anne to Tom.

Tom shakes his head, slowly, and raises his right hand to the back of his neck. He looks down at Maggie, still with his hand on the back of his neck, as he says, "No, uh – Ben's in there."

"OK. So, where is he?" Maggie asks, anxiously, as she turns towards Anne.

Anne tells her, softly, "Lourdes treated Hal. That's all – It's complicated, Maggie…."

"OK, so tell me the un-complicated version of it?" Maggie replies, very quickly.

"Maggie, I was hoping – that we could talk. I, uh…." Anne begins, but stops as she looks up at Tom.

He catches her gaze, nods at her, and announces, "I'm going to go find Hal, okay? When I do, you'll be the first to know, Maggie."

Maggie nods, very slowly, as she lifts her gaze towards Anne; she looks at Anne, cautiously, as she waits for her to continue to speak.

Anne looks up to Maggie and says, so very softly, "I need to check you over, Maggie. There's a possibility that you may still be-"

"I'm not." Maggie replies, quickly, cutting Anne off. "What's wrong with Hal?" she asks, clearly more concerned with Hal's current situation than her own.

Anne can see, everyone can see, how greatly Maggie cares for Hal Mason; she cares for him, perhaps, more than she cares for her own life, well-being and health, and while Anne does, to some extent, admire that, she also worries for it, because while Maggie is so concerned about Hal's well-being life and health, she is neglecting her own.

Anne nods, slowly, and suggests, "Why don't we step inside?"

Maggie doesn't acknowledge Anne's words; instead she follows her, silently and slowly, into a nearby hospital room. The moment that the door closes, behind Maggie, she wishes that she weren't in here. The room that she once shared with Hal seems different, to this one, that room is less daunting than this one.

Maggie takes a step away from Anne, and turns to face her, as she asks, "What happened to Hal?"

"I'm not sure, Maggie. Tom will find him, and you can see him." Anne tells her, before she lifts her gaze to meet Maggie's. "How have you been feeling?" Anne asks, softly, and with clear concern, painted on her face.

"I'm not pregnant, Anne. OK? I know it." Maggie says, very quickly.

She doesn't want to talk about this, especially not with Anne. She doesn't want to talk about this with anyone. She just wants to find Hal, and help him heal, and be there for him. And Henry – she wants to see Henry, so badly.

"Maggie, I understand how difficult this must be for you." Anne tells her, sympathetically, as she steps towards Maggie.

Anne raises a hand, to Maggie's right shoulder, and holds it there, as she says, warmly, "I just want to be certain, Maggie. And I need to be certain that you're well."

"OK." Maggie sighs, letting out a small, shaky breath of air as she speaks.

Anne continues to smile at Maggie, as her hand stays on her shoulder, "OK." she repeats, warmly.

Despite Anne's kind words, spoken with a soft smile, Maggie doesn't feel comforted, or reassured, by Anne. She knows that Anne is trying to help her, and it's nice that she is, but Maggie doesn't need or want to hear these words, not right now.

"Isaac," Logan calls out, to his younger brother, as he moves from the hospital towards him.

"Yeah?" Isaac replies, turning around to face, with a slight smile on his face. "What's up, Logan?" he asks, looking from Logan to Broderick who is stepping towards them.

"Been on patrol, with the blonde lass, have you?" Broderick asks, as he stops before Isaac.

"Captain's orders," Isaac says, as he turns to look Logan, who is wearing a less than impressed expression on his face.

"That's all it is." Logan tells him, firmly, as he holds his younger brother's gaze.

A small frown forms on Isaac's face, as he asks, "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me." Logan replies, quickly. "That's all that it is – the Captain's orders."

Isaac looks, briefly, from Broderick to Logan, before he begins, "I don't understand-"

"You do understand. You understand very well, Isaac." Logan tells him, firmly and with a clear tone of anger in his voice. "You will follow the Captain's orders, but that's all. I'm not going to allow you to risk our lives, and their lives, because you're preoccupied with a stupid crush."

Isaac shakes his head, slightly, in disbelief, as he replies, "This isn't a stupid crush, or a crush at all, Logan. I'm just ma-"

"Making friends, are you?" Logan asks, with a louder tone.

Broderick steps in, now, and says, softly, "Logan…."

"No, Brody." Logan cuts him off, as he shakes his head. "Making friends sounds like a great idea to me, does it to you? Perhaps, we can all have a tea party, with our new friends, instead of fighting the war that is crucial in keeping the human race alive! Because, making friends turned out so well last time didn't it, _brother_?" Logan asks, he puts particular emphasis on the word 'brother', as though the very word causes bile to rise in the back of his throat, as though saying such an absurd word makes him feel ill straight through to his core, as though he hates the word, despises it, and he spits that disdain at his younger 'brother'.

The expression on Isaac's face drops, slightly, but not entirely. It is as though he is not surprised by his brother's words. He has heard worse, from his brother, in the past years, and he is sure that he will continue to hear worse. Isaac will never let on how his brother's words truly hurt him, how they pain him to know how little, how low, his brother thinks of him, how little his brother must love him; if he loves him at all.

Logan shows no acknowledgement, and no remorse, for how he speaks to his brother. He steps towards him, and with a lower tone, that is almost threatening, he says, "That is a direct order, and you will follow it."

Isaac, whose jaw is clamped tightly shut, holds his brother's gaze with his own empty eyes, and expression devoid of any emotion, as he continues to stay silent.

Words would be of no use to Isaac, not with Logan. He wouldn't hear them, because he never listens to Isaac.

"Logan….." Broderick mutters, with a low, impassive tone, as he rests a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Got a meeting with the Captain." he tells Logan, as he tries to direct him away from Isaac.

Logan hesitates, and for a moment he stays so frighteningly still that Broderick believes he may have stopped breathing.

"You will keep to yourself," Logan tells Isaac, speaking finally. His voice is low, but the tone of complete and utter disdain is still there. "And you will fulfil duties, unless you want more bodies in the ground. We've got a war to win."

Maggie's check-over with Anne had lasted much longer than she had expected it to, because once Anne was done the check-up, and had informed Maggie with all of the details that it would be best for her to know when dealing with a miscarriage, Anne had tried to talk to Maggie.

And that was, honestly, the last thing that Maggie had wanted to do. She had pulled away from Anne, as quickly as she could, and abruptly told her that they were finished. She knew that Anne's intentions were good, but, nonetheless, she hadn't wanted to talk about it.

Maggie had found herself wandering the hallways of the hospital, for no particular reason, when she had come across Joseph and Henry. Joseph was in crutches, now. He looked better; still not entirely well, or even as he used to look, but he looked significantly better from the man that Maggie was almost certain was going to die from the attack by the skitters. His long black hair was still slightly messy, but it had been brushed back, in an attempt to make it neater, and was neater than Maggie remembers ever seeing it.

What catches Maggie's attention first, however, are Joseph's eyes. They remain the same grey, with a slight streak of blue, as earlier, but there is less darkness in them, as Maggie recalls seeing.

His grey eyes stand out, against his hollow cheekbones and pale skin. She observes that he's lost weight – she can tell this, even with the long, black trench coat that he's wearing. The shirt that he is wearing underneath the trench coat, a thin brown, long sleeved shirt, reveals the thinness of his chest.

Maggie isn't entirely sure how Joseph survived the skitter attack. He shouldn't have survived, as he was far more injured than Reece was, yet, he did survive. He made it through the attack, back to the hospital, the wounds and the loss of blood, and the pain; for Henry.

Everything that Joseph did in this world was for Henry. Love is, perhaps, possibly one of the strongest things in this world, one of the most powerful things. Joseph had survived because he had wanted, so desperately, to find his son, and he had found him.

Upon seeing Maggie, Henry had lit up, he'd grinned from ear to ear, as he rushed over towards her. He was, even after only talking with her on two other occasions, already warming up to Maggie. She had smiled at him, almost instantly, as she stepped towards the two of them. The smile was unintentional, and yet, it was there before Maggie realised she was smiling. He had that much power over her, already.

Joseph was slower, than Henry, and it took him a moment to reach his side. Henry stood, dressed in a long sleeved, brown shirt and a pair of blue pants. His beautiful blue eyes, with their golden specks of brown, flickered up to Maggie's eyes, as he continued to smile up at her.

"Hi…Henry," Maggie greets him with a small smile.

"Hi!" Henry says, smiling at her.

"Maggie, love, it's great to see you." Joseph comments, as he finally reaches the two of them. He rests on his crutches, as he, briefly, looks down at Henry.

He raises his eyes, to meet Maggie's, and smiles at her. She smiles back, and despite her smile, Joseph can still see the emptiness in her eyes. He wants to help her, as she helped him; because she has helped him, in so many ways that she is unaware of. She gave him Henry, the son he could never have, and for that he would be eternally grateful.

"How…" Maggie begins, but stops to clear her throat. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Joseph replies. "Although, I'm feeling exhausted, now….Are you- Are you busy, now, love?" Joseph questions, as he shifts to quickly readjust his crutches.

Maggie hesitates, for a quick second, before shaking her head. "Nah, I'm not." she answers, very softly.

"Good, because I could sure use a nap…This one kept me up half the night…." Joseph mutters, with a smile, as he gently, and playfully, rubs the top of Henry's head, to mess his hair up. "That'd be alright?" Joseph asks, as he looks up at a silent Maggie.

"It's OK with me," Henry answers, very quickly and enthusiastically.

Joseph cannot help but smile at Henry's eagerness, and he looks up to Maggie to see she is also smiling. It's a sad smile, though, Joseph can see that. He watches her, with curiosity and interest, as he waits for her answer.

"It's OK with me, too." Maggie replies, smiling at both Joseph and Henry."

"Right…" Joseph says, and stops to cough, to clear his throat. "Be good for Maggie, alright?" he continues. "You know where to find me, if you need me. Won't be going too far, with this damn leg…."

Maggie cannot keep her eyes off of Henry, as the two of them move up, through the hospital corridors and hallways. Maggie had suggested, to Henry, that they go up to the roof – and he couldn't have been more excited by the idea, as he hadn't been up there yet.

As they walked, side by side, Maggie took in each and every detail of Henry. He had a light scar, on his right wrist, and a few freckles spotting his arms. Maggie would remember each and every detail of Henry, for as long as she lived. All of this, it felt too good to be true for Maggie. She continued to wait for the moment in which she would wake up, and cruelly be told that it was all a dream, and that she would never meet Henry.

"Do you have any toys?" Henry asks Maggie, as he looks up at her, with optimistic and kind eyes, as they begin climbing the stairs, towards the roof of the hospital.

"Nah…." Maggie answers, as she continues to look down at Henry. "I'm sorry, Henry."

"That's OK." Henry replies, very quickly. "Do you have any brothers or sisters that we could play with?" he asks her, still with an optimistic, hopeful, happy expression on his features.

"No." she replies, instantly. "I don't. They're not here…anymore."

Henry remains silent, only for a minute, before he asks, with a much softer, and almost sad, tone, "So, you're all alone here?"

Henry looks up to Maggie, now, as they near the stop of the stairs. He watches her as she stays silent.

She wants to answer Henry, but Maggie isn't entirely sure how she is supposed to answer that question because she feels so terribly alone, now. She feels frighteningly alone without Hal. She doesn't have Hal by her side, not anymore. When she thinks of who she truly has, who she considers to be family, she can think of a few – but when she looks around, those few are not in sight. She cannot see Hal, or Tector, or anyone else through the thick, sludge of darkness that surrounds her.

She can no longer see the light that she once was completely consumed by. She cannot see the light in which her family lives on in. She can't remember who she was, who she used to be, and who she longs to be. She can't remember what it was that kept her going, through those dark years. She is alone, in the dark clouds of her hauntings, which suffocate, drown and surround her. Without Henry, she would be entirely alone. He is the flicker of light, too far to reach yet, but not so far away that her eyes cannot fall down onto the beacon, and be reminded that she still has some light left.

"It's OK." Henry tells Maggie, still softly, as they reach the door to the rooftop. "You're not anymore." he says, almost whispering.

The smallest frown begins to etch itself onto Maggie's features, as she slowly lowers her gaze, down to Henry, who is standing by her side. "What?" she asks him, with a hoarse and raw voice.

"You're not alone anymore." Henry says, simply, as though he has come up with a solution for Maggie's loneliness. "You don't have to be alone. My Dad likes you, a lot, and so do I. We can be your friends."

Maggie nods, very slowly, but does not speak, because she finds Henry's words so very touching. His suggestion for them to be friends means more to him than he will surely ever know or be aware of.

She steps towards the door, and turns the handle, pressing it open so that the light, from the rooftop, floods in, to where they stand on the staircase, and falls down onto the dark hallway.

Maggie replies, with a louder voice, "I'd like that."

Henry steps through the door, first, and out onto the rooftop. "I'd like it, too. I don't have many other friends." he tells her, as his eyes move towards the horizon before them.

"So, where's your family?" he asks, curiously.

He wonders how Maggie came to be, all alone. Henry also feels bad, for her, because being away from his father, for the short time that he was, was frightening. He hated each and every second that he was not with him. He cried, several nights, because he had wanted to go searching, but hadn't found the strength to, without any food, and hadn't had the courage to either. He hadn't had the courage to leave the warehouse, because the aliens frightened him. He was, on the nights he was alone, scared of the dark, and so the idea of aliens lurking in the dark petrified Henry, and so he found himself frozen, day and night.

In his frozen, frightened state, he would dream of his father, and his mother – they would never leave his mind. He had dreamed of happier times, with the two of them, and that was what had gotten him through the darkness.

"We, uh…." Maggie begins, but stops, momentarily, as she attempts to find the word to describe what happened to her family. She lost them – she would never get them back. She couldn't save them, she couldn't protect them, and she'd blame herself for it for as long as she would live.

Maggie finds herself unable to tell Henry, or to admit to herself, what happened to her family, and so she says the only word that seems to appropriately fit what happened. "We were separated." she says, because they were separated.

"I hate them." Henry mutters, softly, as he and Maggie step towards the ledge of the hospital. "They changed everything."

Maggie is careful to watch each and every move that Henry makes. She realizes now that she is watching each move he makes because she doesn't want him to harm himself, ever. She never wants him to feel any pain, or fear, or sadness. She only wants him to be, and stay, safe, happy and healthy.

"I know." Maggie nods, agreeing with his words completely.

They did change everything, but, there was still a chance that they could win the war, and change it back to how it was.

"We can change it back, to how it was before." she says, in an attempt to lift his hopes about the aliens.

Despite everything that has happened to this world, and all who lived in it, there was, and always would be, hope. They had to hold onto that hope, about winning the war, because as long as they had hope, they still stood a chance. And, there was no chance that they would give up without one hell of a fight.

"Do you miss them?" Henry asks, as he turns to face Maggie.

He finds that she was already watching him, and once their eyes meet, she gives him a small smile, and asks, "The aliens?"

Both Maggie and Henry grin at this ridiculous suggestion. Seeing Henry's smile ignites something inside of Maggie, she isn't entirely sure what that it; possibly, a light. A beacon of light, perhaps, that could, in time, grow into something stronger, and could flicker against the darkness, eventually drowning the darkness out entirely.

Henry giggles, softly, at this, and it takes him a moment before he says, "No…Your family?"

Maggie says, softly, "I do."

"Tell me about them?" Henry asks, still with a curious and kind gaze.

Maggie presses her lips together, tightly, and nods at Henry – she tries to think of something to distract herself from what she is feeling. The emotions that she is feeling, the painful reminder of her family's memory is, at this moment, too much for Maggie.

She cannot stop herself from thinking that the family she would be telling Henry about – her parents would have been his grandparents and her brother his uncle. And the child, she could have had with Hal, would have been Henry's brother.

This is too much for Maggie to deal with, alone. She can't handle this. She can't believe that, for a moment, she truly believed she could handle all of this alone. She won't let herself think, or feel, this way again. She can't afford to feel these things, because they are painful distractions which will only lead to her making a mistake which could cost someone else's life.

"Another time, maybe?" Maggie suggests, as she pushes down, buries, and locks away everything that she is feeling over her family, and what could have been.

"OK." Henry answers, still smiling at her.

Another time, Maggie might tell Henry about her family, which he would never learn was also his family. She could never tell Henry, or tell herself, that they were truly gone, forever, and they would never be coming back. She would never wake up, in the morning, and see their faces again. She would never hear their voices, or their laughs, or see their beautiful smiles.

That thought, of never seeing them again, terrified Maggie; it moved down through each and every bone in her body, it sunk through her blood, and hit her heart. It hit her heart hard. She'd never allowed herself to accept that they were gone, because she had never gotten to say goodbye. She wouldn't let herself say goodbye today. It wasn't right. This wasn't their goodbye; she could never say goodbye, and so she wouldn't. She would continue to let her family live on, in the light inside of her, and in the safe, happy place in her memories, in which she would visit them. And they'd be happy, because everyone deserves to be happy.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. I've been really busy, among other things, but I won't delve into that. I'm sorry, I'll make it up you.**

**Thanks, very much, to everyone who reads this story, reviews, favourites and/or follows. It means so terribly much, and I'm so grateful, and I can't thank you enough. To my lovely sis, you're awesome, as simply as that. You help me sort out the good and bad ideas.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; who posted as Guest; on chapter 44;  
She will, in this chapter. I didn't want to go into too much detail about it.  
I'm happy to hear you think my fic is cool, thank you very much for reading and reviewing. :)**

**Dear Guest reviewer; who posted as Agus; on chapter 44;  
Yes, he was very mean, (It was the Overlord who was mean) Of course, when Hal said the baby didn't mean anything it was the Overlord talking, and not Hal himself because before he was given the kiss of death by Karen and lost control of his body and mind, it did mean something to him.  
I don't want to spoil it, and I'm sure you'll find out by this chapter - I like the Overlord using Hal's body, and not Ben's, it's just an option, though, if Hal's body were to become unusable to the Overlord due to his infection. I'm so happy to hear that you like Isaac! I hope you like him in this chapter. Sorry for the late update.  
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing :) xox**

**Sorry for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. I wrote this really late, and I also wrote the chapter late. If there are any, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated.**

**Thank you to everyone who has ever read my story, even if you have not reviewed, to everyone who has followed, favourited, and to those of you who have reviewed - I want to thank you all individually but that would take so very long, and I know I'd miss someone, and I'm tired so - to whoever is reading this I want to thank you, very much. I can't thank you enough.**

* * *

**To anyone whose life was changed or altered because of Sandy, you will get through this, you're strong and you'll come out on the other side stronger. As always - my constant thoughts, well-wishes, positive thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of you. Thinking of you xx**


	46. Who will fight?

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline.)**

* * *

Ben wakes, slowly, and with a blurry and unsteady gaze. His eyes flicker over the room, which he cannot see with complete clearness yet, as he attempts to determine where he is, and how he came to be here. His head throbs, badly; it aches through his entire body. He is dazed, and slow, at first, as his eyes re-focus, and he finds his father's warm, loving, caring, hopeful gaze looking back at him.

"Don't try to move, too fast." Tom warns him, as he rests a very gentle hand on Ben's shoulder.

Ben hadn't realised he had attempted to sit up, and as the realisation sink in, he lowers himself, slowly, back down onto the pillows that propped his head up on the hospital bed.

Ben nods, slowly, once he is re-seated. His hand moves, before his mind registers it, towards his forehead, and once touching it – a small jolt of pain hits Ben. He drops his hand, instantly, and looks up at his father to find that Anne is by Tom's side.

"How are you feeling?" Anne asks, with a warm but concerned smile.

Ben can see, on both of their faces, that they are stressed. Something has happened. Something has gone wrong; Ben can see it in his father's eyes, despite his attempts to hide it.

"Sore." Ben replies, quickly, with a dry voice. "My head…."

"You've got a concussion, a few cuts, but apart from that, you'll be OK." Anne reassuringly announces, as she lowers her left hand to Tom's shoulder and squeezes it, reassuringly. "I'll be across the hall, if you need me."

"OK. Thanks." Tom answers, quickly, with a tiny smile, as he glances up at Anne.

She smiles down at Tom, and then at Ben, before she steps out of the room, allowing the two of them to have a word in private.

"You had us worried." Tom tells Ben, before he indicates to the empty chair beside Ben's beside. "Matt was glued to that; he wouldn't move until, eventually, Anne convinced him to get something to eat, with Benjamin."

Ben nods, ever so slightly, as he takes in his father's words. His memory of how he wound up here is not clear to him, and the thought of not knowing how exactly he wound up in this state worries Ben.

"How's Hal?" Ben asks, because while his memory is not entirely clear, he does, however, remember snippets – he remembers meeting Hal, outside the edge of the hospital.

Tom, noticeably, tenses up at this. He had searched, the hospital grounds, for Hal, but hadn't had any luck in finding him. He regrets not allowing Hal to speak, and for doubting that he would hold anything but love against his brother. He has just come too close, too many times, to losing his sons, and finding Ben in this state was a shock to Tom, because he can't lose them.

Tom can't lose any of them, because he loves them all, equally and so very much and they are so strongly bonded together, that without one, he would feel so frighteningly alone, and the hole that their absence would create could never be filled.

"He's OK." Tom replies, quickly, but with doubt.

Tom holds much doubt about Hal – he worries about his current state, both physical and mental state. He is aware that Hal has been through so very much, in this past year. Hal has suffered things that if Tom allows himself to think of, often, he would go insane. The very thought of any of his son's in any amount of pain causes Tom so very much pain. He only wants to protect them, and yet, when he looks at Hal he sees, in his eyes, that he has failed to protect his eldest son.

Perhaps, it was because Tom believed that out of his three sons, Hal was the most capable in terms of protecting himself. And Hal was once the most capable in protecting himself, and his brother's, and maintain a calm, strong outside, despite what he would truly be feeling on the inside.

Now, Tom wasn't entirely sure what Hal was feeling, on the inside or the outside. Tom wanted to help him; he couldn't find the way, the words, or the right time, to help his son.

"Yes, I'm OK." Hal declares, from the doorway of Ben's room.

Neither Ben nor Tom had noticed his presence, and are both slightly startled by his voice, which has a cold ring to it. Hal steps through the door, completely, and once inside he closes it.

"How are you feeling, Ben?' Hal asks, with a chilling coldness to his voice that echoes through the room, which despite Ben, Tom's, and Hal's presence, feels empty.

"I'm OK." Ben answers, a little slowly, as his eyes move over Hal.

"Hal….I've been searching for you." Tom tells Hal, as he stands from the chair and turns on an angle, so that he may see both Ben and Hal.

"Well," Hal begins, as he stops a few feet away from Tom. "There are times when you can't find what does not want to be found."

A small breath of air passes Tom's lips, before he says, softly, "Hal…."

Tom speaks in a soft, compassionate, loving tone, which is supposed to convey to Hal how deeply sorry he is, for everything, and yet, it means nothing to Hal.

"I visited to check on my brother, and seeing as he is still alive, I'll leave the two of you to your conversation." Hal announces, as he begins to take a step towards the door.

"Wait – do you remember, what happened? Because, my head…..I don't remember." Ben says, clearly, as he sits up, quickly, in bed. He stays, propped up against the pillows, but positions himself at a better angle so that he is not looking up at Hal, and is rather at a level that is almost equal to his.

Hal replies quickly, without hesitation, and with an impassive tone, "Yes, I do, Ben."

"Could you tell us?" Tom suggests, as he keeps his eyes, momentarily, firmly on Hal.

Again, Hal has no hesitation, as he says, "We were out, by the edge of the hospital."

"You'd asked me to see Eleedium." Ben speaks up, as the memory, quickly, comes back to him.

"I asked no such thing." Hal counters, with the tiniest beginnings of a frown on his features.

Now, Ben is the one who is frowning. A deep frown begins to form on his face, as he replies, "Yes, you did."

"No, I don't know what you're talking about, Ben. I met you, by the edge of the forest." Hal says; he speaks as though he believes he holds superiority or knowledge over Ben.

"No you didn't." Ben says, defiantly and confidently.

"I thought you weren't able to remember?" Hal counters, quickly, and with a slightly raised left eyebrow.

Ben lets out a small, shaky sigh, as he closes his eyes, and mutters, "I remember parts."

"Clearly, you don't remember the real parts, Ben." Hal says, with no indication that he feels any concern or compassion towards his brother. "That's why you asked me to tell you, and I will tell you. We walked into the forest, and a skitter appeared, before us. I told you to run, but you stumbled backwards, and hit your head, on the rocks."

"How-how did Ben get two cuts?" Tom questions, as he turns his head to look directly at Hal. "One cut on the front of his head, and one on the back?"

"You doubt me." Hal declares, after observing Tom's words, the flicker of doubt in his eyes, and the expression of doubt on his face.

He finds this slightly amusing, that the human Tom Mason would fight, continuously, for all humans on this earth, and yet when it comes to those to which he is bound by blood; it is easy for him to doubt them and to see the dark in them. Although, he must not be able to see them clearly, as neither he nor any other human has noticed the human Hal Mason's true absence.

Tom shakes his head as soon as the words pass Hal's lips, he speaks with a tone, that is supposed to reassure Hal that he does not doubt him, but it fails to because it is blatantly obvious that he does doubt him. Tom tells him, softly, "I'm curious, Hal. I just-"

"You want to know the truth? And what would that be? What words would satisfy you?" Hal asks; disdain and disgust drips of each and every word that passes his pale lips. "I attacked my own brother." he announces, with a cold, dark expression, and a bitter, darker tone. "And then I allowed a skitter to pierce my skin, and despite that I attacked my brother, the reasons of which I did so continue to remain unknown to me, I carried him back, bleeding profusely from the wound on my chest, so that he may be properly cared for. Do these words satisfy you? Are they what you so _desperately long to hear_?" he asks, almost yelling out the last four words that pass his lips.

"Hal, it's OK." Tom says, with a tone that fails at being the calm that he intended for it to remain. "Calm down, Hal." he almost whispers, as he steps forward and gently lowers a hand onto his son's shoulder.

Hal flinches, at the touch, and instantly recoils from it, as though the hand that rested on his shoulder was toxic, and would cause him immediate sickness, illness, pain or death.

"Don't lay your hands on me," he almost spits out, with eyes that highlight the contempt that he is feeling towards Tom. "As you may, accidently; find yourself stained with the blood which stains my hands."

"Hal….." Tom begins, with a frown of worry and concern, as he steps after Hal.

"I'll leave the two of you, as you were." Hal says, without a second glance back at the two of them.

He will leave them, as they were, for now, because soon enough, they will not be able to return to how they were. No human will be able to return to how they were, because they will all be dead.

Matt had left Benjamin, only minutes ago, and made his way, outside of the hospital, in search of Maggie, when Pope had found him. Pope hadn't been in a particularly great mood, Matt could see that already.

"Goldilocks," Pope calls out to Matt, as he steps towards him, quickly.

"Benjamin's up in his room." Matt replies, quickly, as he turns to face Pope. "Have you seen Maggie?" Matt asks, softly.

Pope ignores Matt's response, entirely, and asks him, "What happened out in the forest, Goldilocks?"

"I don't like that name." Matt says, quickly. "I'm not the one with hair like a girl, anyway…."

"I could think of a few other nicknames, although not sure Mason would be like them, all that much…." Pope mutters, underneath his breath, as he stops before Matt.

"Have you seen Maggie?" Matt asks, as he looks up at Pope, hoping that he has seen Maggie.

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours." Pope announces. "What happened, out in the forest, today?" he asks, with an impassive tone and expressionless face.

Pope wasn't entirely sure what had occurred, in the forest, but something had happened, because Benjamin was acting differently. He was much quieter, quieter than Pope ever remembers him being. He wasn't hungry, he didn't touch his food, and instead said he wanted to sleep – which was strange, since he would never sleep in the day, as he'd be too busy, happily, playing with Matt.

"We played hide and seek." Matt replies, casually.

"That's all? Did he say anything?" Pope asks, still with an impassive tone and a face empty of any emotions.

"Yep, that's all. He didn't say anything….Why?" Matt asks, with a slight frown.

"I haven't seen Maggie today, kid." Pope answers, ignoring Matt's question, again.

Pope looks up, towards the two men who have just, unannounced and unexpectedly, joined their conversation; two of the marines. If Pope's memory serves him correctly, they would be Ronald Wolfram and Conor Taberski.

"I'm Staff Sergeant Conor Taberski," The dark haired man, with deep brown eyes, announces, proving Pope's memory correct. His dark eyes move from Pope, to Matt, and then to the man next to him.

Ronald Wolfram stands at still, slightly taller than Pope, with an empty expression. His short, light brown hair is curled, slightly, and pushed back. His dark blue eyes stay on Pope, as he says, "Master Sergeant Ronald Wolfram."

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Pope mutters, sarcastically, as he eyes off both of the marines cautiously and with suspicion.

"You are Matt Mason, aren't you, son?" Ronald asks, as he lowers his gaze to the young boy.

"Um….Yeah?" Matt answers, with an unsure tone.

"You're going to have to come with us, kid." Conor tells him.

"Why?" Matt questions, with a small frown.

"No, he's not." Pope announces, loudly.

"Captain's orders," Conor informs the man whom he knows as John Pope; a member of the gang known as the Berserkers, which is, by his observation and the knowledge he has gained of John Pope, a fitting name for such a man as Pope.

"Take a step back, alright?" Pope says, not asking but rather telling them to take a step back. "He's not going with you."

"Captain's order," Ronald Wolfram tells Pope, with a much calmer tone than Conor's tone.

"What exactly are his orders?" Pope questions, as he tilts his head, ever so slightly, to the left.

"Move all civilians-" Conor begins, but stops as Pope speaks over him.

"Over my dead body," Pope announces, loudly.

"Is that a promise?" Conor asks, with a slight twitch of a smile on his face, as he steps forward, towards Matt. He lays a hand on Matt's shoulder, and says, softly, "Matt Mason, you will come inside-"

Pope moves, quickly; he brushes Conor's right hand off of Matt's shoulder, and shoves back backwards, so that he is standing behind him. He hasn't heard any orders from the Captain, or any members of the Second Mass, about moving the civilians, and therefore he will allow no such thing to happen. Besides, Pope knows that Mason wouldn't be overly thrilled if Matt was, even if momentarily, separated from the rest of the Second Mass.

"Lay a hand on him again, and you're going to wish you didn't." Pope says, casually but with a threatening tone.

"Is that a threat?" Conor asks, still with the slightest twitch of a smile on his lips, which indicates that if Pope continues to provoke him, he will regret it greatly.

"You will stand down, sir." Ronald says, with a much calmer voice than Conor, as he steps forward, closer to the two men.

Pope catches something in Ronald's eyes, a flicker of something he recognises; a flicker of something which he remembers seeing all too well in Joseph's eyes, and his own eyes, and at one point, Tom Mason's eyes. A flash of a deeper, darker, unresolved and bubbling darkness; anger and rage which threatens to, at any moment, unexpectedly create chaos and danger.

"You can't order me." Pope retorts, because despite the chaos he sees lurking underneath Ronald's cool facade, he will not follow the orders of these men, or any other men whom he is wary of or does not trust.

Conor, with a tone that is indicative of his tiredness with John Pope, repeats, "Your captain gave orders."

"Matt, would you come with us, please?" Ronald asks, still with the same cool, yet uneasy, tone, as he steps to the side so that he may better view the boy.

"Touch him, again, and I'll be stepping over your dead body." Pope says, almost growling, as he eyes the men off cautiously.

Pope's anger towards these men, who have entered the Second Mass and attempted to implement strategies they believe will benefit the Second Mass when in reality they have no grasp on what would and what would not benefit the Second Mass, has risen, in the last few minutes. He hasn't noticed that a small group has gathered, behind, and to the left, of him. This group consists of a few soldiers, of the Second Mass. Matt recognises Tector, Anthony, Lyle and Lee, standing behind Pope. Matt also notices that behind the marines with whom Pope is arguing with, a few marines have gathered.

The one Matt recognises as Logan Hatchet, their leader, had raised his hand, seconds earlier, to the men who stood behind him, indicating that he would handle the situation.

"Is that a threat?" Conor asks, with a slight raise in his tone.

"Well if looks, sounds, and flies like a bird, it probably is a bird." Pope replies, sarcastically and still with the same bitter tone as earlier.

"Do we have a problem here, gentlemen?" Logan, who had stepped forward and now stands by Ronald's side, asks. He looks from his men, to John Pope, and continues, "We received a direct order, from Captain Daniel Weaver, to move all civilians to the west-"

Pope suggests, with a lower tone, "Perhaps, I'll go speak with the Captain, and Matt here will come with me."

"You will be separated, from them, soon enough, because it is the right thing to do." Logan tells him, with a calm, but also slightly condescending tone.

"I'm sorry –" Pope begins, as he lifts his right hand to his forehead, he scratches the side of his head, and then indicates to Logan as he says, "You've been part of the Second Mass, for what?" he stops, as he pretends to check an imaginary watch on his wrist. "Five minutes? You don't have the knowledge to determine what is and what is not right for us."

Logan, who attempts to continue to hold a calm composure, replies, quickly, "I gained the right to determine what was and what wasn't right for civilians, in war-"

"Take a look around because we're surrounded by war." Pope says, loudly, with the beginnings of a frown creasing his forehead. "And while you've been, wherever the hell you've been, for these pasts months, we've been bringing the war to the fish-heads, and-"

"I'm sorry –" Conor begins, with an expression devoid of any emotion, except for anger. "How many civilians have you lost? How many have you buried in the ground? How many lives could have been spared had you not been so _ignorant_ to believe that the best thing for them would be to follow you to the war against the aliens?!"

"You can't win 'em all." Pope answers, quickly.

"Men, women, and children are dead, and you're attitude towards this is, 'You can't win 'em all'?!" Logan asks, with a look of disbelief plastered on his face. "You can't keep the civilians with you. You're damned if you do. We'll all be damned." he adds, with a lower expression, which still holds the anger that is evident in his eyes.

"Too late for that, gents," Joseph, who had been watching, silently, for a moment, steps in. we're already damned. Joseph moves over, towards Pope and the men, on his crutches, and once reaching them he says, "We're living in an apocalyptic world. We are _all_ already damned."

"You will address Staff Sergeant Conor Taberski, Master Sergeant Ronald Wolfram, and myself; First Sergeant Logan Hatchet, appropriately, and with the respect that is owed to us." Logan orders Pope, with eyes, and an expression, empty of emotion. "You will stand down, and you will follow orders that are given to you. If you fail to do so, you will face the repercussions-"

"We're in an alien apocalyptic world, Ronnie and Connie!" Pope declares, loudly, and with a smile of disbelief, and anger, playing on his lips. "All and any sense of a military hierarchical structure, or any form of hierarchical structure or order, was lost the moment that their ships touched down, created chaos, and wiped out masses of the human population! You cannot order me! And what repercussions will I face? How could you punish me? Trial me? Lock me up? Those days are gone. I am part of the _Second_ _Massachusetts_, not the United State Marines Corps, and therefore I will follow Captain Weaver." Pope tells them; he puts particular emphasis on the words Second Massachusetts, stringing it out and enunciating it carefully, so that they will clearly remember who his allegiance lies with.

"What is all of this commotion?" Weaver asks; as his eyes come across the group that has formed. He had heard Pope yelling, and rattling on, about what he wasn't entirely sure, but it surely wouldn't be anything good.

"O Captain! My Captain!" Pope yells out; maddeningly, as he hears Weaver's voice. As he calls out to Weaver, the veins on his neck, and forehead, pulsate, also, a little maddeningly.

"What is the problem here, Pope?" Weaver asks, as he breaks through the group and takes a stance, beside Pope.

His eyes flicker, momentarily, down to Matt Mason, who is standing behind Pope. Weaver looks back up to Pope, and waits for his response.

"According to these loony's," Pope begins, as he turns to face Weaver. "You want to separate the civilians – move them inside the hospital, to a separate section, and then what? They can shove their-"

"Those were my orders...This isn't the place for this conversation, Pope." Weaver replies, quickly, and with an impassive ring to his tone.

The frown falls on Pope's forehead, immediately, and he asks, "You mean to tell me that you're sep-"

"As I said, Pope, this is not the place for this conversation. A meeting will be held, in minutes, where you will be informed of everything." Weaver tells him, with a calm, low voice.

Pope nods, very slowly, and steps back; casting his eyes over the marines before him. "Any of you, lay so much as finger on my son, I'll cut-"

"Pope, get inside." Weaver orders him, because Pope will only make this situation worse.

"You best be following your Captain's orders, John." Logan tells him, with a hardened, expression and an almost threatening tone.

"Come on, Matt." Pope mutters, under his breath, as he ushers Matt away from the men, inside.

Joseph follows Pope and Matt, inside; first, he will ensure that both Pope and Matt are okay, then, he will find his son.

"Tom!" Dai calls out, from the hallway of the hospital, after he had caught sight of Tom stepping out of one of the rooms along this hallway.

Tom had sat, in some moments of silence, with Ben, as both wondered what _really_ happened in the forest, what was happening with Hal, and how they could help him.

"Dai, you're up- you look well." Tom comments, with a small smile, as he turns to face Tom.

Dai does not return Tom's smile, his expression is that of a much more serious, and firm, one. "Where's Matt?"

"Uh, I don't know…With Benjamin, I think – Why? What's wrong, Dai?" Tom asks, frowning, as he turns, completely, to face Dai, who has just stopped before him.

"I just got the news." Dai says, with a lower voice, and an expression on his face similar to sympathy, but also anger.

A small frown appears on Tom's features, as he asks, "What news?"

"I heard it, downstairs – I heard those Marines talking." Dai replies, quickly, but still not answering either of Tom's questions.

"Talking about what Dai? What news are you talking about?" Tom asks, as he raises his right hand to his forehead and scratches it, a little nervously.

"According to those Marines, Captain Weaver is about to give the order of the relocation of all civilians." Dai tells him, with a lower voice so that only Tom will hear his words.

It takes Tom a moment to respond to Dai's words, and when he does he shakes his head, and answers, "What- no, no. Dan wouldn't do that. You mustn't have heard them correctly, or misunderstood them. The civilians-"

"I know, Tom, the civilians are _part_ of the Second Mass." Dai says, with a lower voice so that only Tom will hear his words. "But, these Marines, they seemed pretty sure of it. They said he was relocating them – to Charleston."

"Dan, a word, please?" Tom asks, with the calmest voice that he can find at this current moment, as he comes across Weaver, moving towards his office, with two of the Marines behind him.

"Alone." Tom adds, as he casts a quick glance over Logan and Broderick.

"That isn't necessary-" Logan begins, but stops as he is cut off by Tom.

"No, I think that it is necessary, First Sergeant Hatchet, considering that I am still second in command, of the Second Mass, I think that it is both necessary and appropriate that I have a conversation, alone, with my Captain." Tom replies, very quickly, and with a tone that rises in anger.

"As you wish, Tom Mason." Logan replies, respectfully, as he and Broderick, simultaneously, stop walking. "We'll be out here, Captain." he tells Weaver, as they stand, still, along the wall outside of his room.

"Before you ask, Dan, no – I don't want a drink. I want to know what's going on with the Second Mass – with the civilians." Tom asks, loudly, as he begins to pace the room, slowly, while keeping his eyes on Weaver.

"You heard?" Dan asks, lowering his head slightly, as he lets out a small sigh and rubs his creased forehead with his right hand.

"It's not true, is it Dan? What-what are you thinking?" Tom asks, as he comes to a stop, and raises his hand to his creased brow.

"It was my decision." Weaver says, simply.

"It was our decision, Dan." Tom replies, quickly. "I'm your second in command."

"You're biased, Tom. You have a civilian son." Captain Weaver retorts, as he takes a step closer to Tom.

Tom shakes his head and, adamantly, announces, "I'm not letting you relocate Matt to Charleston."

"This is the best choice, for everyone. Believe me, Tom. I am doing this for you." Weaver says, with a lower tone, in an attempt to calm Tom down.

However, his lowered tone does little to calm Tom down, but rather angers him further.

"How? How are you doing this for me, Dan?! Could you explain that to me, because I fail to see how this is for my benefit?!" Tom asks; with each word he speaks, his tone rises, and with each word that passes his lips, he is losing the ability to control his anger over this situation.

"I wasn't considering the relocation of the civilians, until Billy went missing. We haven't found him, Tom. It's very likely that he's dead. And while that led me to considering the decision; I made it because of your boys, Hal, Ben and Matt. Hal and Matt were attacked, by skitters-" Weaver begins, stepping forward, closer to Tom, as he speaks, as he still continues to attempt to calm Tom down, and get him to view things from his position.

"They're fighters, not civilians, Dan." Tom replies.

"If they were civilians they would have died!" Weaver answers, with a much louder tone. "And we've lost too many, Tom. Too many good men, women, and children. I won't allow us to lose another, not when we can prevent it."

"And you think that Charleston is the answer to all of our problems? It's not! It didn't work before." Tom tells him, as he takes a step away from Weaver. "Matt's not leaving." he says, while shaking his head. "I won't lose him."

Weaver says, while holding Tom's gaze, "I won't make him. I won't force any civilian to relocate, but I highly recommend that they do."

"We need them-" Tom begins, but stops as Weaver speaks over him.

"You once said to me that we need to protect the civilians, at any cost. This is how we will protect them. We must protect them, and this is the only way I can see, right now, that will continue to keep them safe. You don't want Matt to leave, but he could become the next casualty of the war if he remains by your side, and neither of us wants that to happen, Tom. We both want what is best for the civilians." Dan says; with a tone that is both filled with understanding but also sadness; at those that they have lost, those they could not save, those they would never forget.

Tom drops his head, slightly, and with a tone that is much softer, than the tone he was yelling with before, he tells Dan, "This isn't what's best, not for the civilians, not for us. It's not best for anyone."

Weaver shakes his head, slightly, as he replies, also with a lower tone, "It is, Tom. It's only that you can't see it that you can't acknowledge it for being the right thing."

* * *

**I apologise for the lateness of this update. Things have been very busy, and I haven't found very much spare time. For that, I apologise, and I hope you enjoy. Also, sorry for any grammatical errors in this chapter, or any other. Thank you for reading. I also apologise that this chapter doesn't have any Maggie/Hal scenes. Their scenes are coming, and there will be plenty. **

**Dear Guest reviewer; Dana, who posted on Chapter 45;  
Hi there. I'm sorry for the late upload, I know it has been a while. Thank you for your lovely comment, saying you think it is excellent. You aren't being rude, and you have no reason to be sorry, I didn't take it badly. I'm very sorry for the lateness. I still have plans to continue with this fic for a very long time, if people are still interested. I promise it won't be this late again. Thanks for reading&reviewing, it means a lot.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Guest; posted on chapter 45;  
****Hi! I'm sorry for the late update. Thank you for reading, and reviewing. It means a lot. I will fix it. Hang in there, and things will get better for everyone.**

**Dear Guest; who posted as Guest; chapter 1;  
Thanks so much for your lovely, lovely comments, I'm happy to hear you think it is a fantastic retelling, and that I've done a great job pinpointing characters; what they are truly feeling and why they are feeling it. Thank you, very much. You've made my day.**

**Again, sorry for the lateness. Enjoy X**


	47. Who will fall far behind?

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline.)**

* * *

Weaver calls two meetings, that afternoon. The first meeting he calls is that of the civilians, of whom he addresses, alone, and informs them of what he believes is the best for the Second Mass. Some civilians disagree with this idea; both vocally, and silently, while others, silently, agree. Captain Weaver notices that there are, still, some civilians missing; he notes Matt's, Benjamin's, and Henry's absence, first, and then a few other faces. He understands how difficult it would be to even consider this, but he also knows, in his heart, that this is the right option; the best option and the only option.

Captain Weaver tells them that the decision is truly theirs, but as he knows the pain of losing family, in the war, and because they all have felt the pain of losing members of the Second Mass, he does not wish that upon them, again. They are crucial, he tells them, for the survival of the world; they are vital for the survival of the human race. The civilians provide hope, and faith, and light, to the fighters; the fighters need the civilians, because they are a source of strength, and hope, in the darkest of times. These times now, however, are dark, and they will only get darker before the light returns. Things are guaranteed to get worse before they get better, and during this patch of darkness, the best place for the civilians is not here; he tells them this, with an understanding tone. He does understand; he understands their reluctantcy to leave, but he tells them that they _must_ understand his motives for doing this. He is doing this, for them. It has always been for them, and all other civilians in the world.

"You will always be part of the Second Mass, even in Charleston, I can promise you that. I can also promise you that the day will come, when we will come to you, and we will take you to safety. That time, I'm afraid, is not now. Charleston is not what you want, I know that, and I understand that, but you're safety is my priority, and Charleston is safe. The miles between us will make no difference; we will remain as we are; a family. That is what we are. We are family, and as my family, I must urge you to do this, for your safety, for your lives, for your protection, and for ours. You are our future, our family, our strength. Please, listen, understand, and consider my words." Weaver tells them; his eyes move, slowly, over all civilians in the room. He remembers when the number of civilians was much larger than it is now. He knows that it is still large, but they are smaller than they were. He can't let that number fall any small. He can't let more lives be lost, because it will happen, in time, and all that he can do now is try to prevent it for as long as he can.

Weaver leaves them with the details of where, and when, to meet; for those civilians who decide to leave. He leaves a, mostly, silent room. As he moves through the, apart from the marines, who are patrolling both the insides and the outsides of the hospital, while the meetings are held, are empty. As Weaver nears the room in which all fighters wait, for their meeting; he hears noise, chatter – more noise than he had heard from the civilians. He hears Pope's voice, first, and then Tom's. Before entering the room, and facing his fighters, Weaver decides that he will, quickly, head to his room, and have a, quick, glass of scotch.

Despite that Weaver knows, in his heart, that this is what is best for the civilians of the Second Mass, he knows that by separating the civilians from the fighters he may, very well, be separating friends from friends and family from family.

Maggie wasn't sure how long she and Henry had spent, on the roof of the hospital; it must have been an hour, at least, because they had talked, and talked, for so very long. They had laughed, and talked, and he had confided in her how scared he had felt, when he was alone. She had answered, softly, that Henry would never have to worry about that, again. She told Henry he would never have to feel scared, or frightened, or alone again, because he had his father, who would never let him go. She had taken in a deep, sharp, breath of air, before she had told Henry that he had her, and she would try to keep him safe as best as she could.

Henry had smiled, grinned ear from ear, at those words. Those words reassured him, greatly; more life came to his eyes, and in appreciation for this reassurance, that both Joseph and Maggie would protect him, Henry had hugged Maggie, tightly.

She and Henry had, after coming down from the rooftop, come across Benjamin and Matt, who were rushing down the hallways. Henry had beamed, with excited, at the thought of playing with other children. Benjamin and Matt had offered to take Henry, to play with him; they had offered this because after Pope, Matt and Joseph had stepped inside, Pope had sent Matt off, to find Benjamin, and to find Henry, and take them, up to Pope's bedroom, and lock the door – push all objects in front of it, and pretend that they were making a fort. So, Matt had told Maggie that they were going to Pope's room, to make a fort, and that Henry should come with the two of them.

Pope had wanted to attend the meeting, to object, loudly, at the very idea of removing the civilians from the Second Mass. A few months ago, the relocation of the civilians wouldn't have bothered Pope all too much, but now that Pope had found Benjamin, he wouldn't let them take him. He wouldn't let them take his son from him again. He knew that Mason would allow them to take Matt, and Joseph wouldn't allow them to remove Henry, because as much as he didn't seem it, Joseph had become part of the Second Mass the moment he'd entered their lives. He was a good fighter, and a good, albeit mad, man. Also, Pope felt some strange sense of obligation, to Maggie – not to her, entirely, but to – well, he wasn't entirely sure what it was he felt. He felt, in some way, that he couldn't allow her to lose her son, again, because he had been so very responsible for Maggie losing so much of herself, because he hadn't done anything to save her.

Matt had told Maggie to go downstairs; he didn't have the time to say why, though, as he, Benjamin, and Henry, quickly, moved down, towards Pope's bedroom. The marines had already cleared out this level of the hospital, of civilians, and sent all down to the separate meeting rooms.

Maggie had, at first, begun moving down, towards the stairs that would lead her down to the floor level of the hospital, to where the meetings were being held, and then she had stopped, suddenly, before reaching the stairs. She was overcome with the strong, sudden desire to find Hal, because she doubted she would find him, downstairs, because she couldn't find him anywhere, not lately. Even when she stood, before him, and their eyes looked into the others, she couldn't see him; she couldn't see her Hal.

Maggie turns, and walks, quickly, in the direction of the room that she and Hal had shared, not too long ago. She doesn't find him there, so she thinks of the next place she will find him, and in moments she finds herself outside of the room that they had spent the night together in, before Hal's operation. Her hand moves, slowly, towards the doorknob, and once she grasps it in her hand, she turns the handle and steps inside. Much to Maggie's surprise, she does find Hal.

She finds him standing, at a still, before the window; small droplets of rain have begun to fall, against the glass windows; the blinds have been pulled open so that the rain can be seen, clearly.

"This is where you've been coming, then?" she asks, as she takes a step inside the room; a step closer to Hal.

Maggie has found lately that despite how close she may find herself, with Hal, it doesn't matter. It doesn't fix what has happened, to them. It doesn't bring Hal back, to how he was, or to who he was. Closeness doesn't matter because the space, and the darkness, is still there, between them, and she can't deny that, she can't pretend it isn't there, and she can't seem to fix it, despite how desperately she wishes to.

"Not quite." Hal replies, coldly, and with a voice that, despite belonging to Hal, sounds as though it belongs to that of a stranger. "You're aware of the news, then?" he asks, turning, very slowly, and almost robotically, to face Maggie, as she stands, still, in the doorway.

She watches Hal with a careful, intense, look of wonder and worry. She worries, so deeply, for Hal. She has, and always will, worry about him, because he is, truly, part of her. He will come back to her, though, because he always does; they always find their way back to each other.

Maggie wants to believe that this time won't be different, to the others times, and that they will, in time, find their way back, to each other, but there is a nagging voice, in Maggie's mind, and in her heart, which tells her that this time is different, frighteningly different, and that time will not matter, as Hal will not find his path back to her, and to who he was.

Maggie shakes her head, ever so slightly, and pushes her hair behind her ears, with both hands, as she says, "No – I'm not. What news, Hal?"

"They're holding a meeting, as we speak." Hal answers; as he speaks, Maggie swears that she can see an emptiness, in his eyes. An emptiness that she had noticed flickers of, before, but has never noticed the true extent of it, until now. And now, seeing this deep emptiness frightens her.

It frightens her because she knows that she failed to protect him, as he would her, and she couldn't help him, or save him, as she only ever truly wanted to do, because she knows, in her heart, that he would fight for her, until his very last breath, and that is exactly what Maggie will do for him; despite how hard it is, she will continue to fight until the last breath of air passes her lips.

"I know. I, uh…I was looking, for you." Maggie replies; her tone is still soft, and calm, as she takes another step closer to Hal.

"Captain Weaver is, as we speak, announcing the relocation of all civilians, from the Second Mass." Hal announces; he speaks slowly, and without a single shred of any emotion.

His words are as hollow, an empty, as his eyes are, which continue to watch her; but the way he watches her is different, it has been for some time now, Maggie just hadn't allowed herself to believe that it had been different.

The frown falls onto Maggie's features the moment she registers Hal's words, and what they will mean for Joseph and Henry, Matt, Benjamin, and all other civilians. The civilians are part of the Second Mass. They provide hope, and strength, in times of darkness, fear, and desperation.

"It isn't a forced relocation, rather a voluntary one." Hal adds; still with an empty tone.

Maggie hesitates, silently, before she asks, "So, Henry – and Matt, and Benjamin….They can stay?"

"They can. But they shouldn't." he tells her, so very quickly. He speaks as though he knows that this is what is truly best for the civilians, and that letting them remain is perhaps one o/f the most absurd things he has heard.

"You think that the civilians should leave?" Maggie asks Hal; the frown is gone from her face, and an expression of confusion and absurdity has taken its place on Maggie's features.

With a smile, on Hal's face, that holds no traces of kindness, or love, or of the man that Maggie once knew, the Hal that she loves, Hal asks her, "And you think that they should stay?"

"You want your _brother_, and Benjamin, and Henry, and all other civilians to leave?!" Maggie asks, loudly; she emphasises the word _brother_, because she cannot truly believe that Hal Mason would allow his brother to be separated from the rest of his family.

She places a particular emphasis on the word 'brother' in an attempt to remind Hal of the strong, once unwavering and unquestionable, feelings, that he seems to have, momentarily, forgotten, towards his family.

The Hal Mason that Maggie met, months ago, the one she knew, the one that recently disappeared on her, would never, not while his heart was beating and he while he continued to breathe, allow his family to be separated.

Hal holds Maggie's unwavering gaze, and steps towards her, as he tells her, "My brother will be safer, without the added danger of the Second Mass. In regards to Benjamin and Henry, and all other civilians; their relocation will serve to be useful, and will almost certainly guarantee the continuation of their lives."

"They aren't better without us. They're what make us, Hal." Maggie replies, quickly; she didn't have to think about the words, they had just passed her lips, without a thought, because she, truly, in her heart, believes they are the truth, and they are, it is only that Hal cannot see the truth.

The civilians give the fighters hope, light, faith, and they make them. Their departures would almost certainly leave a hole in the fighters. It would almost certainly limit the faith, hope, and light, of the fighters.

"You're blinded because you don't wish to be separated from Henry." Hal observes; with a cold expression on his pale features.

"I don't want to lose Henry, I don't want to lose Matt, and I don't want to lose you." Maggie tells Hal, so very softly, as she moves so that she is standing before him.

She stops when she is so close to him that she can see right into his eyes, _those _eyes. Those beautiful, intoxicating, eyes that, in this moment, still hold power over Maggie, but this is a different sort of power. In this moment, Maggie does not find these eyes as beautiful, as she once did, or as intoxicating. Up close, these eyes are dark, almost hauntingly dark.

"How should I respond to that, Maggie?" he asks, looking down, towards her. "Should I tell you that I want to be part of this freak show _family_ that you're so _desperately_ trying to piece together?" he adds; disgust, and almost humour at the absurdity of her being able to have a family, drips of the words family, and desperately.

She is desperate, to him, as all humans are desperate.

"What- What…." Maggie stutters, at first, but quickly convinces herself to regain her composure and to keep herself calm.

This isn't her Hal. She knows it. She can get him back; she just has to try, hard enough, to get him back.

"What is this? This isn't you, Hal. You're not – You don't mean that. This isn't you." she says; with a voice that, clearly, fails at staying as calm as it was intended to be.

"Oh, but I do mean it, Maggie." he answers, so quickly; as though he didn't have to think about his response. "We both know who you really are." Hal states; still holding her gaze which is, now, almost empty.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she replies, quickly; with a frown on her pale features, Maggie holds Hal's gaze, and doesn't step back, as she waits for him to answer.

"It means that we both know who you are, inside." he answers; evasively and with a slight ring of mockery to his words.

"Oh, yeah, and who would that be?" she replies; still, somehow, holding his unwavering gaze.

Hal takes a step to the side, away from Maggie, and steps around her, very slowly, as he tells her, "You know, just as I do, that you cannot provide for him what he needs to survive in this new world."

"Why are you saying this?" Maggie asks, spinning around to face Hal, who is still watching her with those empty hazel eyes. "Before-"

"You're ignorant to the truth." he answers, so very simply, and says nothing else on the matter, for now.

Maggie hesitates, before she says; so very slowly, "This isn't you, Hal. It's not – What's going on?"

"Your purity, and your light, it's been corrupted." Hal tells her; with a, at first, soft tone. His soft tone changes, into a tone significantly darker, as he continues, "All in this world have been corrupted – except for the children. Your son is young, and he is not corrupted, he remains pure; for now. He still holds a light that is not blackened or tarnished with the evils that others have committed."

Hal stops; briefly, as he looks down at Maggie; the human, who is as weak as the others, is struggling. She is struggling with herself; with her mind, her thoughts, and her darkness. But, above all, she is struggling with her heart. Her heart, like the hearts of all other humans, will certainly lead to her demise as it is a weakness that cannot be controlled, or stopped.

Humans, just as Maggie is doing now, will always struggle with their hearts. He watches her, for a second, not with a silent curiosity but with a silent, slight, humour, towards her; humour that she, just as the rest of the human race, are doomed to death, and yet, they still continue to involve themselves in the most trivial matters that will mean nothing once their hearts fail to beat.

"Henry has a heart of gold," Hal tells Maggie, as he tilts his head to the side; and with a small grin on his face, that holds no sign, whatsoever, of kindness, and love, he announces, "Well, we both know, what your heart holds, and it is certainly not gold. In your heart, and in your mind, you know what and who you are, truly, and when you face your demons, you cannot deny them as they are part of you."

Maggie shakes her head, at Hal's words, and his cruelness, because she finds that this is all that she can bring herself to do, after hearing these words, because she isn't entirely sure how to respond to them, she isn't sure how to deny them because truly, in her heart, she isn't sure whether his words don't hold some truth.

Without Maggie's knowledge, a few, stray, tears roll down, lifelessly, onto her cheeks. She wipes them away, quickly, not allowing herself to acknowledge that they had fallen, because she was determined to stay strong, and to fight Hal; she would fight this Hal, to get the old Hal back.

"You cannot hide from the evil that seeps in through every part of you. Your heart is rotted to the very core with filth, fear, cowardice and an evil, which can never be truly washed away or removed from you. You exist within it, as it exists within you." Hal says; disgust and venom, towards Maggie, drips off each word that passes his lips, and as he continues, the venom and disgust only grows stronger.

Maggie tries, so badly, to not allow herself to become a crying mess. And she doesn't become a crying mess; or maybe she does. She finds that she has lost all control over the few tears, that continue to fall down, staining her pale cheeks. She doesn't become a mess because despite these tears, she still, somehow, manages to hold herself together.

Sometimes, despite how strong your determination and will is, it isn't enough. Sometimes, despite how hard you try, and how hard you fight, it isn't enough. And, sadly, sometimes, despite everything that you have been through, with someone and without them; all that you have survived, and haven't survived, and fought for them, isn't enough to get you through their darkest moment, which is, because they are so much a part of you, also your darkest moment.

"What life will Henry have, with you?" he asks her, but waits for no answer as he already holds the answer to that question. "He will not have one. The youth of this world have no chance, in this world. You will be the sole cause of his death if you are to let him remain. If you free him, you will give him what he truly needs. Consider these words; he will face a certain death, with you, and without you, he will be given the life that he is truly deserving of."

There will be times, like now; that you find that even though you care for someone, so deeply, and incredibly, and you'll probably never care for another this way, that you can't help them because of how they've hurt you.

It's not that you don't want to help them, because you do, because you've only ever wanted to, and will only ever want to, help them; it's because you _can't_ help them. You can't help them because you can't help yourself. And you can't help yourself because there is nothing left of yourself to help; you were destroyed, when they were. You lost a part of yourself, as they did. And as the darkness corrupted their soul, and their heart and bloodstream, it corrupted yours, too, but to a deeper extent.

You have been ruined, corrupted, destroyed, blackened, and stained. You are no longer in one piece, but in several, different, pieces, scattered out in places which you can no longer reach. You have become this way, because of them, and because you were aware of what was happening to you, you were of the toxin infiltrating you, but you didn't care, because you don't care about yourself, you only ever, truly, cared about them.

But you can't help them. Despite how willing you are, or how much you love them; even if you love them with all of your heart and soul, you can't help them – it soon becomes as simple as that. You can't help them. And knowing this; knowing that, in your heart, you have failed them, because you've failed to help, heal, or save them, will destroy a part of you that you may never get back.

Maggie had stood, frozen, because she was almost certain she had been frozen, until Hal had left the room, because she hadn't been able to speak, or move, while he was there. She isn't entirely sure how much time had passed, while she had stood, staring, lifelessly, at the space that Hal had once stood in.

And then, in his absence, she had become the mess that she had feared, and promised herself that she would never be again. She had locked away that part of her, or so she had thought, but today, with Hal, it had broken free.

Maggie's hands, trembling slightly, had moved, shakily, and pushed her hair behind her ears, as she had begun to sob. It wasn't an uncontrollable sobbing, because she could control it. It wasn't a loud sobbing, either. It was a silent sobbing. The tears fell down, much quicker now, and against Maggie's will. She hadn't wanted to cry, she hadn't wanted to feel this; she hadn't wanted to feel anything. And yet, in this moment, after Hal's cruel words had truly soaked in, she hadn't been able to stop herself.

"Maggie, what are you doing-?" A voice calls, but stops mid-sentence, from the doorway, and as Maggie looks up she is overcome with both an embarrassment and vulnerability; she finds Isaac, standing in his uniform, and his hat one, with his weapon in his hands, watching her.

His face, which had first held an expression of happiness at finding her, despite that Maggie had been so against the two of them being friends, quickly changes into an expression much different than that; a look of worry, care and concern falls onto his face, as he steps towards her.

"Maggie, are you OK?" he asks, with a genuine tone of concern, as he reaches out a hand, towards her shoulder.

She, instinctively, recoils from his touch; it isn't because it's Isaac; it's an instinct that has, over time, become human nature, to Maggie. It's something that she has learnt to do, to protect herself. And know, she wonders if only she had of left the Second Mass, when she had asked Weaver to switch units.

Perhaps, things would have turned out differently; Hal might not have been taken, by the skitters, if he hadn't been slowed down, to help her. He hadtried to help Maggie; to save her, from Karen, and because of that, because of Hal's pure, golden heart, and his need to help others, his need to help Maggie, to protect her from Karen, had resulted in Hal losing a part of himself that he hasn't gotten back, and may never get back.

She shakes her head, at Isaac, but otherwise stays silent as she moves to step past him, but Isaac steps with Maggie, blocking her way.

With his hands raised in the air, slightly, Isaac says, "Hold up, Maggie. What's wrong – are you hurt?"

His eyes move, quickly, over Maggie, searching for any wounds or injuries that may be causing her pain. He isn't sure what exactly has happened, but something has, he knows that because he can see the fear, and the great sadness, in her eyes.

"I'm fine." Maggie replies; quickly, as she attempts to step past Isaac, but, again, he moves with her, still blocking her path.

"Maggie…" he says her name; so softly, and with a tone that conveys that he knows that she isn't fine, and that he isn't buying her words.

"I'm fine, Isaac." she answers, without hesitation, and with a louder, more confident tone. She takes in a small, sharp breath of air, as she pushes her hair behind her ears, and cleans her face of the tears that, moments ago, stained her cheeks.

"Let me help, OK? At least, let me try to help you?" he suggests; still with a soft and caring tone.

Maggie looks up at Isaac, once she has finished pulling herself back together, and says, "You saw nothing, OK? You got it?"

Isaac nods at Maggie's words, and replies, "Yeah, I got it. But, Maggie, I-"

"Nothing, OK? Nothing." she repeats, forcefully and with a more confident voice, this time.

She leaves Isaac, despite his efforts to help her, which he cannot, alone in the room. He watches after her, as she exits; she moves quickly, and without a second glance out, and while Isaac wants to convince Maggie to stay, because he wants to help her, he decides it would be best to let her be, for now.

"As I just said, I am not forcing the relocation on all civilians, but I'm enthusiastically suggesting it." Weaver repeats; to the room of fighters, some of whom are angry, while others aren't.

"This isn't what's best for the Second Mass." Anne says; shaking her head, ever so slightly, as she stands beside Tom. In her heart, Anne truly believes that the civilians _belong_ with the fighters. They are part of each other, and the removal of one half wouldn't benefit or be 'what was best' for anyone.

"You may believe that, Doctor Glass, but you're wrong. The relocation is what's best for the Second Mass because it is what is _best_ for the civilians. They are our priority, and we must care for them, and this is the way to do so. I understand a lot of you will disagree with me, but think about all that we have done, for them. Then, think about all that we have lost, because we weren't solely focused on fighting the enemy." Weaver says, as his eyes move over the fighters in the room.

"You know, I never picked you to be the one to lay down, for others, Captain." Pope declares; bitterness and resentment rings of the word 'Captain', as though he has lost any respect, even if only small, towards this man, who has, clearly, listen to the words of the Marines.

"I am doing what is best for my people, Pope, despite how hard you may find that to believe."

"With respect, Captain; do you really think that it's best to separate families?" Anne asks, as she looks from Pope to Weaver.

"I do." Ben answers, cutting in over both Weaver and Anne.

"What?" Tom asks, quickly, turning to look down at his son, who had been standing, silently, next to him, during the meeting. Tom looks at Ben as though he thinks this is, perhaps, one of the most absurd things Ben has ever said.

"I think its best….I mean, I…" Ben begins, but stops as he catches sight of his brother, Hal, standing in the doorway.

Hal had stood, silent as ever, and unnoticed, until now, when Ben had spotted him. He doesn't acknowledge Ben, or show him any signs of emotions; instead he continues to watch him.

"The thought, of being separated from Matt…Before, I wouldn't have considered the idea. I mean….We _fought_ to find each other. And we're together….But, the thought of being separated from him, from a short time, is easier, than the thought of….something happening, to him." Ben continues, as he turns to look towards the Captain, and then towards his father.

"Something could happen to him, in Charleston, Ben. He's better with us. He's safer, with us." Tom tells him, still watching Ben, intently, and also with wonder in his eyes; Tom wonders what has, suddenly, caused Ben to think that they would be better, apart. They wouldn't be. They're better, stronger, and happier, together.

"Is he?" Ben asks, looking from Hal to Tom. "Jimmy was a civilian, turned fighter….and he….I just…I won't let him….He's my brother, but he's not a fighter. Not yet, anyway."

"You weren't there half the time, Mason Junior, so you wouldn't know that Charleston didn't work, not for us. Or, did you forget that it didn't work, when I saved your ass?" Pope asks; he put particular emphasis on the word 'didn't', so that he may remind Ben, and all others in the room, what a failure Charleston was.

"I know what it's like, to loose family in the war." Weaver says; with a louder, and slightly more aggressive, tone. He only wants to protect his people, and not may around here seem to understand what he is so desperately trying to do; he's trying to save lives, innocent lives, and keep families together. "I've lost everyone, but my Jean. Not a day – not a minute passes me by where I don't think about bringing her down here, taking her out of Charleston, and spending what could, possibly, be my last days, with her. Because we don't know when our last days will come, none of us do. What we do know is that our civilians are our future, they're essential to the continuation of the human race. I am doing what is best for my daughter by leaving her in Charleston. It's hard. It kills me that we're not together when we could be, but it's what is for the best, for both of us. I'm not saying that the relocation, and the separation, will be easy, because it won't. It's going to be the furthest thing from easy, but when we win this war, and we're re-united with the civilians, and our families and friends, we will look back, and the time that we spent without them will feel easy."

Weaver leaves the fighters, after informing them of the departure times of the buses and trucks leaving with the civilians – fighters who volunteer will drive the civilians to Charleston and then drive the cars back. Then, Weaver informs each fighter that regular patrols will continue, from now, as the marines will be leaving, to scout for more fuel – despite that they have copious amounts, they wish to find more, but they will be back by the afternoon. All current fuel will be given to the civilians; the newer fuel is for the fighters, who will be moving locations, as they have become too complacent here.

"Your boys upstairs, with mine and Thatch's." Pope tells Tom; as he, Joseph, and Tom, step out of the meeting room.

"Thanks, Pope." Tom replies, quickly, as he steps to the side; he steps towards Ben, so that he may speak with him.

Once Weaver had finished speaking, Ben had looked towards the door, towards Hal; but he had found that Hal was gone. Ben had wanted to find Hal, to speak to him about the forest, but instead Tom had pulled him to the side, of the hallway, so that they could speak.

"You don't really think that Matt would be better off, without us?" Tom asks; he watches Ben with a concern in his eyes, which was hidden earlier. He holds a concern for Ben, because he wonders why Ben would believe that things would be better this way.

They're a family; families belong together, helping each other, healing each other, and being there for each other. In dark times, and in lighter moments, families are there, for each other. They will always be there for each other.

"Yep, I do, Dad. I just…." Ben begins, but comes to a stop, because he _really_ doesn't feel like having this conversation with his Dad, about this. Not now, not yet.

"You just, what?" Tom asks; he waits, quietly and patiently, for Ben's answer.

"I think its best. That's all." Ben replies; he tells his Dad this, in a lower, but still unconvincing, voice.

Pope and Joseph, who had been standing in the hallway, only a few feet away from Tom, discussing something that neither Ben nor Tom heard, look up at the sight of Maggie, walking down towards them.

"Maggie-May," Pope declares, upon seeing her. He continues, still with a loud voice, "You missed the meeting. I think you would've found it a particularly-"

"Take him." Maggie tells Joseph, simply, as she steps past Tom and Matt, and stops in front of Joseph.

However, Maggie is careful not to stand too close to Pope or Joseph, because whenever she becomes close to someone; they either die, they get injured or sick, or they leave her. And she won't go through that again. She can't go through it again. Hal was injured, because of her. A part of Hal died, the old Hal died, because of her. And he left her, as she, secretly, feared that he would.

"Take who, love?" Joseph asks; he speaks softly, as he takes a step towards Maggie. He eyes her off, with a look of caution and concern, before he asks, "Something happen, Maggie?"

"Take him. Take Henry," Maggie repeats; she moves, to walk away, but Joseph steps with her.

"I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, or why you're-" Joseph begins; he is, however, cut off by Maggie, before he can finish his sentence.

Maggie looks up at Joseph, hesitantly, before she tells him, "Take Henry, to Charleston, and go with him."

"Has something happened?" he asks; a frown has fallen onto Joseph's features, as he watches Maggie, waiting for an explanation as to why she would want him to take Henry to Charleston.

He knows that something has happened. It must have. Because, the Maggie that met Henry, for the first time, and the Maggie that Joseph saw, alone, in the hospital room, with a pocket knife, was alone, and seeking something. She was seeking comfort, a family, and love. He doesn't understand why know, after finding Henry, she would want to leave.

He knows that it must be difficult for her; seeing Henry, and being unable, for the time, to tell Henry who she really is, but in time, Joseph would tell Henry the truth, and he'd hoped Maggie would still be around, so that Henry would be able to get to know her, and so Henry could be part of both of their lives.

"Why would –" Pope begins; he steps forward, cutting into the conversation, as he looks between Joseph and Maggie.

"Take Henry, and go with him to Charleston." Maggie repeats, not glancing at or acknowledging anyone but Joseph.

Joseph looks, very briefly, at Pope, who is also wearing a confused expression on his features. He looks back up at Maggie, before he asks, "Why the sudden change of heart? I thought-"

"What? That I could make this work? That he'd be safe here? That I'd be good for him?" Maggie asks; she answers, quickly, and with a louder tone. "Nah…It's not working. Leave, OK? Take Henry, and go with him to Charleston. It's better, this way."

Joseph steps forward, and with an almost inaudible tone he says, "Maggie, darling, why are you-"

"Take him." Maggie repeats; with a fiercer tone, now. She wants Joseph to listen to her and take Henry as far away from her as possible, as far away from here, because that way, he'll be safe, he'll be protected, and that way, she wouldn't fool herself, again, into believing she could be good for him.

"Maggie, you don't-" Pope, who has stepped forward, begins to speak; he begins to tell her that she doesn't want to be doing this, because she will regret it. Pope reaches forward, with his right hand – to stop Maggie from walking away, as she had begun to move.

"Don't." she says, quickly, pulling free of Pope's grip before he had touched her shoulder. "Take him and get the hell out of here." Maggie tells Joseph, once more, with a lower tone.

She looks away from him, and Pope, and Ben and Tom, who had been watching and listening to the conversation, and begins moving down the hospital hallways.

Despite that Maggie felt, and told herself, that it would be better this way, as she walked away from Joseph, who would, soon enough, walk away with Henry, she doubted herself. She knew this wouldn't be best, for herself, but for Henry, this could mean him living a longer, safer, fuller and happier life, and that was all she had ever wanted for him.

In time, perhaps, it would feel like the right thing to do, to Maggie. In time, she could, perhaps, forget the pain, which she had almost numbed entirely, and she would see that this really was the best thing for both of them, as she couldn't provide him what he wanted.

Perhaps, in time, she would disagree with Hal's words, because at the current moment, she couldn't deny his words. Her heart was corrupted and tarnished with all that she had committed, all she had done. Her heart was not gold, as Henry's was, and her heart would never be as pure as his is, not again. His light, and his beautiful blue eyes that she would never forget, had healed Maggie, if only slightly, but she was selfish if she were to become better, by his light, because her darkness would surely, in time, tarnish his light.

A part of Maggie, a part of her soul she considered to be selfish, didn't want to let Henry go. The thought of never seeing him again, now that she had found him, had killed a part of Maggie that she would never truly get back. It was a part of her that, until Henry's arrival, had previously been dead. But he had saved it, he had been the cause that it had come back to life; it was dying now, almost dead. He was a part of her; he is a part of her, and he will always be. She would always love him, but it is because she loves him, so greatly, that she must ensure he gets the life that is best for him, the life that he deserves, and that life is not here, with her.

**A/N: First of, I'm sorry for the lateness in my update. I'll try to be quicker, from now on. Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favourites or follows my story. I can't thank you enough, and I hope that you are still enjoying it. I'm deeply sorry for any grammatical errors - I read over this one a few times, but I'm sick at the moment, and that's part of the reason this update is late and may also contributed to me missing a spelling error or mistake, so let me know. Thanks for reading.**

**Dear Guest Reviewer Agus, who posted on chapter; 46;  
Hi there! I'm so happy to read that you really liked this chapter, and I'm also relieved. Thank you very much for your review! You'll have to read on, to see what will happen with the civilians - but I think chapter 47 will give you a pretty good idea of what could happen. I don't want to spoil, but much of Ben's memory will come back.  
I'm sorry that you missed Maggie, there will be many more chapters, mostly based on her, coming up, very shortly, if you hang in there.  
I'll try to update WAY more often then I have been, lately. Thank you so very much for your lovely words, and for reading my fic. **

**If I don't get to update before Christmas (I probably will, it's just a what if) I just want to say, to everyone, everywhere in the world (who celebrates Christmas) Merry Christmas, I hope you have great holidays, you relax, and to everyone (those who don't celebrate Christmas included) Take care of yourself, your family, and stay safe.**

**I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for reading.  
Xx Take care.**


	48. Fading away

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline.)**

* * *

Tom had spent most of the night away from Anne, and his sons, and on the rooftop of the hospital. He wasn't entirely sure what had prompted him to come here. He hadn't realised he was doing so until he had reached the door, leading to the roof.

Perhaps, he had come here to be alone, to think over the events of the day. He had spent this time, what was left of the night, thinking of his sons. The very thought of being separated from any of his sons pained Tom; as all he had ever wanted to do, what he had always fought to do, was keep them together.

Initially, he had believed that keeping them together was what was better, for all of them. It was what would keep his family safe and alive, and he could always watch over them, care for them, and protect them, if they were kept together. Tom still strongly believed that. But, despite his strong belief that his family was best together, the tiniest part of him believed that maybe he was wrong. Maybe, all of this time, he was being selfish, because he had wanted to keep his boys with him. Perhaps, his judgment was clouded and he was unable to see the possibility that they could be safer, without him.

It was too late for Tom to suggest that Ben and Hal leave, and go to Charleston; they were both fighters, now, and he wouldn't be able to, as much as he argued, convince them to leave, and go to the safe haven. Matt was stronger, than he was when the aliens first came. He was, slowly, learning what it took to be a fighter, and when the time came what he would need to do. Tom knew that Matt would have to learn, eventually, about how to fight, because they could be living in this world for a very long time, longer than anyone had ever expected to, but Tom didn't believe, or feel in his heart, that his youngest boy, Matt, was ready to become a fighter.

Matt holds an innocence, a purity, a light, and a hope, that not many of the fighters still hold; because of what they have witnessed. After taking a life, Matt will change. Ben has changed, and Hal has changed, because of what they have done, the lives they have killed, and what they have witnessed. They would never be as they were and they would never be able to, truly, forget all that they had seen and all that they had done.

Tom couldn't allow Matt to face this war; not while he was too young. And despite what anyone else would think or say, Tom felt that Matt was too young for this, he was, in Tom's eyes, too young to take a life even if it was a skitters. He wouldn't let the same thing happen to Matt, as had happened to Hal and Ben.

He wouldn't allow Matt to be put into the position, again, where he could have been harnessed. If they hadn't arrived when they did, Matt would have been harnessed, and Tom would have never forgiven himself for that, just as he will never be able to forgive himself for letting Hal and Ben be harnessed.

Tom will always do what is best for his children. He will, always, protect them. Nothing can, or ever will, stop Tom from protecting his boys, because he loves them so very much. He would die, protecting them, before he let them feel any pain. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to prevent his two eldest boys from feeling pain, and that will always haunt him, but he can help Matt, he can prevent the pain before it comes anywhere near him. He can ensure his safety, this way. Despite that this is the hardest way of doing so, Tom can't risk his boy, and so it, at this moment, is Tom's only way of protecting his boy.

"Tom Mason," Joseph calls out, from where he finds Tom standing, on the rooftop of the hospital.

Tom turns around, slowly, to face Joseph; he finds that Joseph, too, looks as though he hasn't slept at all throughout the night that has passed. It is morning now, Tom finds; the sun is rising, so very slowly, over the hills and trees in the distance. He hadn't noticed the changing colours in the sky, as he stood, still, considering his very few options.

"How can I help you, Joseph?" Tom asks; his voice is low, as he speaks. He turns to face Joseph, and once facing him he waits, silently, for Joseph to speak.

"Thinking 'bout your boys, eh?" Joseph asks, as though he has read Tom's mind, as he, too, takes a step forward.

"Honestly…." Tom sighs, letting out a deep breath of air he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "They're all I think about. But this…this is…."

"Unexpected?" he suggests to Tom.

Tom replies, quickly, with a lower tone, "Yeah. Different? Harder?...I don't know."

"You and I, we haven't….gotten along, seen eye to eye….You know. But, ah….This is a horrible situation. It really is. It's messed up. I mean….I, ah, I want to see it like it's the better option, but it's real difficult…Too." Joseph says; he stops, occasionally, and mutters a few words, here and there.

"We fight to find them and to be with them….And we're supposed to, voluntarily, be separated." Tom tells Joseph; as he speaks, he raises his right and to his temple and scratches it.

"I, ah….I'll leave you, to your thoughts, Tom,….but, ah….Thought I should tell you….If Henry goes, I'm going with him." Joseph tells Tom, as he takes a step back, towards the door.

Tom can see, in Joseph's eyes, an emptiness that has always been there even now, that he has his son back it remains. Tom believes that this emptiness remains because Joseph lost someone dear to him, or, possibly, he lost a part of himself.

"What about Maggie?" Tom asks Joseph; he speaks with a soft tone, which holds no judgement towards Joseph.

Tom cares about Maggie, though, and he wonders how she would deal with this separation even though she was clear on how she felt when she told Joseph to take Henry to Charleston.

Tom feels that there is something else, there. There must be a reason that she is pushing for Joseph to take Henry and leave. Perhaps, Maggie is frightened. Frightened of hurting Henry or losing him, or she is frightened that she will never be enough for him.

Whatever it is, Tom can still see the love in Maggie's eyes which she holds for her son. Maybe that's Maggie's reason; maybe her reason is that she loves her son, so much, that she would choose to be separated from him instead of him feeling pain or fear that could come to him if he remained with the Second Mass.

"Yeah….I know, you must think I'm a selfish prick…But, uh….I'm doing what's best, for my boy….She told me to take…..That's why it's hard, Tom. I want him to be safe….But I want her to be happy…." Joseph mutters, most of the words, as he lowers his gaze, down, from Tom's.

"I don't think that of you." Tom tells him, honestly. "At the end of the war, you can find her, again. You can all be together, then." he adds.

"Mmmm…Yeah, well…I, just, ah….If I go…." Joseph begins; he stops, to cough and clear his throat, and once he meets Tom's gaze, again, he continues with a softer, and clearer, voice, "And you decide to send your boy, Matt, and John sends Benjamin….I'll watch over them….I mean, I know, I'm not your first choice, or your best one, but I'd keep an eye out."

"Thank you, Joseph." Tom says; he gives him a small smile, thanking him for the kind suggestion, before he watches Joseph turn away, and walk, very slowly, back through the door he, only minutes ago, stepped through.

Tom closes his eyes, seconds after Joseph leaves, and lowers his head, slightly. He will let Matt go if that ensures his protection. He will do it, one of the hardest things, for Matt, because it could turn out to be the best thing for him.

Despite that Tom considers this to be something that must be done, he struggles with it; he struggles because he knows that he is separating his family, he is, voluntarily, letting Matt, whom he loves so greatly leave to keep him safe. He will struggle with this, each and every day that passes them, while they are apart.

He will struggle with the voices in his head; the ones that will scream at him, to bring Matt back, and the others which will tell him it is for the best. He will struggle with the emptiness he will feel in his son's absence, as he has felt this emptiness in both Ben and Hal's absence, and he will struggle with knowing it was his decision.

Tom isn't sure how much time has passed since Joseph visited him, when he leaves the roof, and returns to the floors of the hospital. He returns to his room, first, and instead of finding Anne, safe and sleeping in the bed, he finds her, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, next to an awake Matt and Ben, all of whom glance up at Tom, as he pushes open the hospital door and steps through the doorway.

"What's going on – has something happened?" Tom asks, immediately panicked, as he moves towards three of the few people who mean so very much to him.

"You're sending me away?" Matt asks; his voice is so soft, as he speaks, and looks up at Tom, with a saddened, but also angry, expression on his features. "I haven't done anything wrong." he adds; standing from the bed, as he speaks, he watches his father, with such intensity and innocence, as he waits for some or any form of an explanation as to why he is being sent back to Charleston; a place that he never enjoyed being in and never belonged in.

"Did you tell him this, Ben?" Tom asks; he questions Ben, first, before answering Matt's question. "You've done nothing wrong, Matt. I just-" he stops, allowing Ben to speak.

"No. I didn't tell him. He overheard Pope, talking to Joseph, earlier." Ben replies, quickly, as he, too, stands from the hospital bed, and steps towards his father. "Have you slept at all?" Ben asks his father, as he is concerned by his father's tired and worn expression.

Ben knows how truly difficult it must be, for Tom, sometimes. He also knows he couldn't understand most of what Tom feels; the, overpowering, emotions that Tom feels, for his sons. Ben feels that, for his father, mother, and brothers, but not to the same extent that Tom does. Tom is solely devoted to his family, whereas Ben is devoted to his family, and to Red-Eye. Ben wants to protect both of them, but he is also aware that his family is capable of protecting and caring for themselves – this is where Tom is different. He doesn't see that. He only sees the love he holds for his boys, and only believes he can protect them, no one else.

"I think….." Anne begins; she follows Matt's and Ben's earlier movements and stands from the hospital bed. "We should let your father, and Matt, have a talk." she says to Ben, as she steps towards him. "OK?" she asks.

Ben doesn't hesitate, and replies, "OK."

"We'll be outside, Tom." Anne informs Tom, as she and Ben step past Matt, and Tom, and through the open door. Anne closes the door, as she exits it, giving Matt and Tom the privacy that they need.

"I haven't done anything wrong." Matt states, as he watches Tom move, slowly, towards him.

Tom nods, enthusiastically, at Matt; he agrees, completely, with Matt. He has done nothing wrong. He has grown stronger and braver, since the invasion, but still, Tom doesn't want him in this fight, right now. He wants him somewhere he may remain safe, and happy, and free from the pain, and the blood that has never stopped coming, in this war.

"I know, I know. You've done absolutely nothing wrong, Matt." he speaks with a soft, kind tone, as he kneels down, in front of Matt, so that he is at the same level as Matt.

Tom lifts his left hand and, gently, places it on Matt's right shoulder. "Nothing at all, Matt." he repeats, still with the same kind, soft, caring and reassuring tone.

"Then why do I have to leave? Dad, I don't want to." Matt tells him, as he, quickly, shakes his head. He doesn't want to leave his dad, or his brothers. He hates when they aren't all together, and hates the idea of being separated from all three of them. "I don't have to fight. I won't ask to, if I can say." Matt says; an attempt to convince his Dad that he'll be good, and won't beg to fight if he stays.

"I'll be good." Matt says, with a much quieter tone.

"You're always good, Matt." Tom answers; he has the smallest smile on his face as he looks into his youngest boy's eyes. He doesn't want to let him go, but he wants to keep him safe, and protect him, and maybe, this is the right way.

"I want to stay, with you, and Ben, and Hal." Matt says; he's almost pleading with Tom now, pleading to stay, pleading that he won't be sent away.

"I know, you do, Matt. I know. I want you stay, too. Trust me, I do. That's all I want. But, I want you to stay safe." Tom tells him, with a much lower voice, now.

Tom only wants the best, for his son's. And right now, this is what seems best. That doesn't make it any easier for Tom to tell Matt what's about to happen, that they're about to be separated.

"I am safe, Dad." he tells Tom, with a louder voice. "I'm safe, Dad." he repeats.

Tom hesitates, before he answers, "Now, you are. But we don't know – I'm sorry, Matt. I am. But…I want the best for you."

"You're not sending Hal or Ben away." Matt counters; he doesn't want to be separated, he doesn't want to be away, and alone, from his family.

"It's only for a little while, Matt. I promise. Then, I'll come and get you. We'll come and get you." Tom says, as he raises his right hand to Matt's cheek and holds it there.

"Really?" Matt asks; with a lower tone, that holds no anger as it did earlier.

"Yeah….It won't be for long, Matt. I promise. You can go to school, and-" Tom begins, but stops, as Matt speaks.

"Dad….." he begins to object, to say how school didn't work last time because he punched a boy in the face for talking about his father, and the Second Mass, and calling them liars.

Matt really doesn't want to return to Charleston. He didn't enjoy it there. He didn't like it, at all. But, he can see in his father's eyes that he wants, and needs, for Matt to leave, for now. There is desperation in Tom's eyes, that is, despite Tom's best attempts to hide it, clear for Matt to see; Tom is desperate to keep his son's safe, always, and sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures, and Charleston is certainly a desperate measure.

"Henry's going. And Benjamin might be…." Tom tells Matt; he stops, briefly, to let a small, almost shaky sigh, pass his lips. "I know….It's hard, I know. This is hard for me, too. But I love you, Matt, and I want to keep you safe. That's all I've ever wanted." he says; the love in Tom's voice echoes through the room, and is clear for Matt to hear, and this is why Matt will, reluctantly, agree to leave, for Charleston. He will go, for his dad, because he loves him, and he knows that his dad will come back for him.

Matt nods, and answers, "OK…."

"You can write to me, every day." Tom says, softly, as he raises his left hand to Matt's cheek. "And you can write to your brothers, too."

"How will I send them?" Matt asks, still holding Tom's unwavering gaze.

"Write it down, in a book. And when your brothers and I come to get you, to take you home, I'll read it then. I'll write to you, in my own book." Tom tells him; when he has finished speaking, Tom pulls Matt in, tightly, to his chest, and holds him for what feels like hours. "You know…." Tom begins, still holding Matt tightly, in the embrace. "When your mother and I took you home, after you were born….Your brothers, they fought over you. I guess that's when the fighting started." Tom says, and stops, to smile, slightly, at the many memories of Hal and Ben fighting over everything and nothing; they would fight over the biggest and smallest things.

"They would fight over who would hold you, who would feed you – they were so protective of you. I remember…..I had just put you down, to sleep, and I was checking in on your brothers….I stepped into Ben's room, and I found Hal pulling the blanket over Ben's shoulders…Ben must have fallen asleep, on top of the bed, and when Hal was done, he went to his own room..." Tom stops; this memory, all his memories of his sons growing up seems like such a long time ago.

The life that he used to have, with his boys, almost feels as though it was a dream and not a memory.

"And then half an hour later, I went to check in on you – and Hal was in your room. He was sitting on the rocking chair, in the corner of the room, just holding you….You were asleep in his arms….You were both asleep." Tom says; he pulls away as he finishes telling Matt the memory.

Tom holds this memory very dear to himself; he thinks of it, a lot of the time, along with thousands of other memories of his boys; each of his son's first walks, their first birthday's, and first words.

"You're going to be OK, Matt. And so am I…You want to know why?" Tom asks, as his hands remain on Matt's shoulders.

"Why?" Matt asks, softly.

"Because, your brothers – they wouldn't let anything hurt you, or me. Would they?" Tom says; his voice is low, and a little shaky, as he speaks.

"No." Matt replies, quickly, and without a second thought.

Matt hesitates, for a moment, before he steps forward, almost leaping; he wraps his arms, so very tightly, around Tom. "Thanks, Dad." Matt mutters, softly, as he keeps his head, resting, on Tom's chest.

"For what, buddy?" Tom asks, as he raises a hand to Matt's curls, and rests his hand on top of his head.

"Everything." Matt answers, and that's all he says because he knows his dad has done so much for him.

He, voluntarily, went on an alien ship for Ben. His Dad risks his life, so many times, for his sons, and Matt believes, now, that if he goes to Charleston then it may be one less risk Tom will have to take – he won't have to put himself into a situation to protect Matt when it could endanger his own life, if Matt is Charleston.

Matt knows that they'll be together, again. They always are, and they're always together sooner than they think they will be. They always have, and always will, find their ways back to each other.

"Tector!" Maggie calls out, upon catching sight of Tector, walking towards the main doors of the hospital.

Dai and Anthony walk, beside him, and as they spot Maggie, they both nod, simultaneously, at her, and leave Tector and her to speak, in private.

"You on patrol?" she asks him; she speaks with an impassive tone, and an expression devoid of any real emotions or feelings

"Nope, finishing packin' up some supplies for the civilians." he answers, as he stops before her; he casts a quick look over Maggie, before he asks, "You…alright, Maggie?"

"I'm fine." she replies, quickly; too quickly for Tector to believe that she is fine, but, he doesn't push her.

He nods at her, and says, "Alright. Gotta go pack up…See you after."

"OK." Maggie answers; she nods, once at Tector, before watching him step through the front doors of the hospital, and move towards the bus.

Now Maggie sees, as she takes a step forward, the civilians that have gathered to take the bus and two other trucks, to Charleston. Maggie doesn't find the two she was searching for; Henry and Joseph.

"Looking for someone?" Pope asks; he doesn't frighten Maggie, despite that he appears un-announced behind Maggie, speaking loudly, in her ear.

Maggie doesn't turn to face Pope, or answer him; she doesn't acknowledge his presence but rather stares out at those who wait for the bus. She stares, silently, out at them and for a minute she forgets that Pope is standing beside her. She forgets that he is there until he speaks.

"He's going to take him, Maggie." Pope tells her, honestly; he knows this because he and Joseph, whom he calls Thatch, had talked several times last night and this morning.

He knows that Joseph will take Henry to Charleston because he is trying to do what is best for his son.

"Good." Maggie answers, lifelessly.

"You don't mean that." Pope says, instantly, because he knows how deeply Maggie has wanted to be around Henry, and she wouldn't give him up just like that – there had to be a reason behind it and he would find out that reason, however he had to.

"So, what happened, Maggie-May? Did you panic? The thought of motherhood terrified you to your very core?" he asks; he moves so that he is standing in front of Maggie, blocking her view of all civilians outside.

Maggie looks up to Pope and answers, coldly, "I came to the realisation that I'm not that person."

"You're right. You're not. You're someone else, entirely. But that doesn't mean you cannot provide for him that which he wants, that which he needs." Pope replies, very hastily, as though he had been thinking of the words earlier.

He hadn't been practicing, though, he answers so quickly because he knows Maggie, more than she would care to let on, or admit to. He knows Maggie better than he would care admit, either.

"That's exactly what it means, Pope." she answers. "Why the sudden interest, hmm?" Maggie queries; she continues to hold Pope's gaze as she speaks. "Why do you even care?" she continues.

"Back to hating me, are we?" Pope asks, abruptly cutting Maggie off. "I don't want you throwing away a chance that you won't take, because you're scared."

"I've been through scarier things, Pope." Maggie says; she continues to speak with the same empty tone and she continues to wear the same lifeless, emotionless, expression on her features. "I am not scared." she says, fiercely, and with a tone that conveys to Pope to drop it, now, because she does not want to talk about this with him or anyone else.

"Yeah…Well, when the sky starts falling around you - don't say I didn't warn you." Pope mutters, under his breath, as he takes a long step away from Maggie

As Pope turns away, he sees Mason Junior, Hal, coming down the hallways. Pope says nothing but rather observes Hal as he walks, with a slower pace that Pope only just notices, towards Maggie.

Maggie and Hal do not exchange words, or even a simple look; Hal doesn't acknowledge her presence, and rather steps past her through the front doors without looking back. Maggie looks up, after Hal, and for a moment she silently considers going after him.

Maggie had never intended to give up on Hal, she still has no intention of doing so; she's just giving in, momentarily, to the darkness. She needs a moment to allow the pain to pass through her, and seep into her bones, sinking into her chest, and then her heart, before she can try again, with Hal. He'll still be there, when that time comes, and maybe with time, it'll be easier to help him come back; perhaps, with a small amount of time, it'll be easier to help Hal to heal.

Pope steps inside his hospital room to find Benjamin, sitting on the edge of his bed, with his bags packed – Pope hadn't packed them, and finds this, immediately, concerning as to why Benjamin would pack his bags.

"You alright, Ben….?" Pope asks; he shuts the door behind him, and treads, slowly, towards Benjamin, who was, before Pope spoke, staring at a spot on the ground.

Benjamin looks up at Pope, with a slightly pale face, with a look in his eyes that shows he may not have been aware that Pope had entered the room. Things have been different, for a while, with Benjamin, Pope has noticed this, and has tried, on many occasions, talking to Benjamin; but he'd always tell Pope he was fine, and smile, and he'd convince Pope that he was fine. Now, Pope could see that something was wrong.

"Yeah…." Benjamin answers unconvincingly.

"Alright. What's going on? Spill it." Pope says, as he takes a seat down, next to his son.

Benjamin looks up at Pope, and, quickly and unexpectedly, wraps his arms, so very tightly, around Pope – he hugs his father so tightly, as though if he holds him any looser he might lose him.

"I don't want you to die." Benjamin blurts out; his voice is slightly muffled, as he has rested his head into his father's chest.

"What- Kid, I'm not going to die." Pope answers, with a small smile on his face, as he lowers his left hand, to Benjamin's back, and rests it there. "You're not getting rid of me anytime soon."

"I know." Benjamin answers; he knows this because if he remains silent about what he saw in the forest, his father will stay alive – and he's not entirely sure how long he can keep this to himself. He saw something that he hasn't been able to forget, something that has haunted his dreams and, sometimes, haunted the daytime.

Maybe, Benjamin thinks, if he goes to Charleston, he will be away from the monster, and therefore won't accidently tell his father what he witnessed. He'll miss his father – he'll miss him like crazy, but he'd rather miss him than blurt it out, on accident or because he couldn't hold it in anymore, and have his father killed.

"I want to go." Benjamin admits, as he pulls away from Pope; he looks up at him, slowly, holding his gaze, as he waits for his dad to answer.

"You want to?" Pope asks; with a deep frown on his face. "Why would you…." he begins, but stops as he realises that Benjamin might want to leave because he doesn't want to be around Pope, anymore.

"I don't want you to die, and I don't want to die, either….If I stay here….I could." Benjamin says; he still holds Pope's gaze, and waits, silently, for his answer.

Pope stays silent for a little while; when he finally speaks, in a lower tone, he says, "I'll keep you safe."

"I know. You always do. But I want to go, Dad. Just for a little while….Please. If I die here then you'll be sad and I don't want to leave you – in that way. Please." Benjamin says; he's almost pleading now, as he speaks, very quickly. He wants to stay with his dad, he has always wanted to stay with his dad, but maybe, he'll be able to keep them both safe, this way.

"OK." Pope answers; he agrees, so very reluctantly.

He wants his son to stay with him, always, because now that he has him back, he never wants to let him go. But it is what his son wants, and if he wants it so badly Pope will oblige. It doesn't make it any easier, though, saying goodbye to someone you love so very much, and have only just gotten back. He'll get Benjamin back again, though – he knows, in his heart, which he'll come back to him.

Matt had said goodbye to Anne, Lourdes, and all of the other fighters, before he, Ben and Tom had found Hal, outside, waiting by one of the bikes. He had been standing still, unmoving, staring at a spot on the ground, before he had noticed their presence. He frowns, slightly, at the sight of the bag on Matt's back, and the two bags in Tom's hands.

"Matt's leaving?" Hal questions; he doesn't ask anyone in particular, as his eyes move over the Mason men standing before him.

"He is. But only for a little while." Tom answers quickly; his eyes move, very slowly, over Hal as he watches him – he looks unwell, like he hasn't sleep properly in weeks, and from the looks of his appearance he hasn't been eating too much either.

"Come here, buddy." Hal tells Matt; the Overlord had known to use that phrase from access to Hal Mason's memories, he had, on previous occasions, called the youngest Mason son, Matt, 'buddy'.

Matt runs towards, speedily, towards Hal, and wraps his arms as tightly as he can around Hal's stomach. Hal slowly, and stiffly, drops his hands onto Matt's back. He holds him, only for a moment, as he says, "I'll see you soon."

Ben watches Hal with a silent curiosity, and knowledge, that he hasn't shared with his father yet, or anyone else. Earlier in the day, when Ben had been outside with Anne, he had asked her about Hal – he had been interested in how Hal's spikes were healing, and how he was, physically, after the operation.

Anne had replied, quickly, that Hal had been going to Doctor Kadar for check-ups, and not to her. Shortly after, Ben had bumped into Roger Kadar, in the cafeteria, where he had learned, from the doctor, that Hal had not been attending his appointments with Doctor Kadar either, and had told Kadar that he had been seeing Doctor Glass for his appointments.

Ben had wanted to ask Hal about this, but hadn't found him anywhere, on the hospital grounds, until now, and now hardly seemed like the appropriate time to bring up those matters. He would, however, be sure to talk to Hal about it, later.

Tom turns, slightly to the left, as he hears Captain Weaver, speaking, as he catches sight and approaches the Mason family. "You're making the right choice, Tom." Weaver says, as he stops walking, and stands beside Tom.

"I sure hope so, Dan." Tom replies, quickly; he glances past Weaver, as he speaks, and catches sight of Pope and Benjamin, exiting the hospital doors.

They move towards the bus, but as Pope catches sight of Tom, and of Matt, he changes course – but he stops, before he reaches Tom, and Matt, and the rest of the Mason Clan, and kneels down in front of Benjamin.

"You're sure this is what you want?" Pope asks, checking, one last time, that this is what his son wants.

"For now," Benjamin answers, quickly.

"OK. I, uh….I love you. Stay safe." Pope mutters, under his breath, so that only Benjamin will here.

Benjamin moves forward and wraps his arms, tightly around his father's neck, hugging him, as he answers, "I love you too, Dad. Stay safe."

Pope gives Benjamin a quick kiss on the forehead, before sending him off, towards Matt Mason.

Pope's gaze lifts, slowly, from Benjamin, to Tom and Weaver, who have turned to face him.

"You're sending him off, Pope?" Tom asks, with a, surprisingly, soft and sympathetic voice – because he understands what Pope is going through, right now, sending of a child is never easy, especially into this world, when you have no knowledge of how soon they will return.

"Yeah, I am…." Pope nods; as he steps forward, Tom and Weaver catch a small smell of whiskey, coming off of his breath. "And if, god forbid, anything happens to him, Captain, it'll be on your head, which would no longer be attached to your shoulders…We, uh, have an understanding, _Captain_?" he mutters, almost growling, so lowly, that only the Captain and Mason will hear.

"He'll be safe, Pope. Nothing will happen to him." Weaver answers, quickly, and with a confident tone. He believes in Charleston. He believes that this is what is best for his civilians.

Maggie, who had not wanted to see Henry and Joseph off, had sat on a stairwell around the side of the hospital because she couldn't go out there to see Henry and say goodbye because if she were to see him she'd forget every reason she gave that he would be better without her and better in Charleston and she'd want him to stay and that would be selfish because Henry had a better chance without her.

It was always like that. It seemed to be that whoever was in Maggie's life deserved to be somewhere else, somewhere better, well, that was what Maggie had believed, anyway. She had lost far too many people to not know and believe that people had a better chance without her.

The bus is loaded up with as many civilians as is possible, and what few don't fit are put into three separate trucks – one extra than expected. After all civilians are on the bus or in the trucks Weaver finds that none remain. All civilians of the Second Mass are ready to leave, to head to Charleston, and find a safety and security that the Second Mass cannot always guarantee them.

Tom had thought that saying goodbye to Matt would be the hardest part but it wasn't – watching the truck that Matt got into drive away is one of the hardest things that Tom has ever had to do.

He feels a part of himself being pulled away, as Matt is pulled away from him. He has to constantly, and repetitively, remind himself that this is what is best for his son, and that it will guarantee his safety and security.

After the civilians have left, the fighters, all of which remain since the civilians insisted that they were capable of driving, towards Charleston, so to save the fighters time and resources, begin to prepare the trucks and med-bus, which remained behind with the fighters, with supplies and all that they will be bringing as they move away from this location.

Pope, who had said goodbye to Matt, and called him Goldilocks, and had, quickly, thanked and said goodbye to Thatch, had gone as soon as the truck that Ben, Henry and Matt were in had driven away.

Pope had then found himself at the back of the hospital – for some air, and since he was on patrol, he decided to check out this side, first.

He sees out of the corner of his eye, Hal, walking down, towards the forest – for a moment it is as though Hal doesn't notice Pope's presence.

"Where you walking to, Mason Junior? Figured you'd be with Mason Senior…." Pope comments, as he turns to face a, surprisingly, silent Hal.

There is something odd, about Hal, as he stops in front of Pope. Pope isn't entirely sure what it is that is odd about him but it's something; something is different, something has changed.

"Walking..." Hal answers; he stands, stiffly, before Pope, and holds his gaze with empty brown eyes.

"Mmm…..That's incredibly vague…" Pope mutters, lowly. He continues with a louder voice, as he asks, "You're the reason she sent him away, aren't you?"

Hal frowns, but otherwise stays silent, conveying that he is confused by Pope's words. He watches Pope, silently, as he waits for him to continue; he is sure that the human's assessment of him will be an interesting one.

"Don't play stupid with me, Mason Junior…" Pope says, with a, clearly, threatening tone. "She'd do it, for you…If you asked her too. That's the kind of power you hold over her."

"I'm not playing anything, John." Hal replies, simply, and with a softer expression on his face.

"John?" Pope questions, frowning; Hal Mason has called him many names, but 'John' has never been one of them. "You've never called me that before…." Pope muses.

"Haven't I?" Hal questions, with a slight tilt of his head.

Pope notices that Hal holds himself differently, now, as though he is intending to come across as more intimidating, or as though he holds more power, than earlier. He has noticed this since his return, from the warehouse, but hasn't a clue as to why he is acting so strangely.

"It's for the best – the children, leaving. It really is." he tells Pope, as he takes a step to the side, away from Pope, as he does so, he continues to hold Pope's gaze. "Especially your boy, Benjamin."

"The civilians just left." Ben informs the Marines, as he approaches the group of Marines, who have returned with their fuel.

"Aye, can see that, lad." Broderick answers, quickly, as he walks down, towards Ben. "An' you, you're a fighter, then, are you?" he questions.

"Yep." Ben replies, quickly.

"Thought so." Broderick says. He extends his right hand, and says, "Broderick Sweeney."

"Ben Mason." he answers, quickly, as he shakes Broderick's hand.

Broderick nods, as he recognises the last name, and says, "Son of Tom Mason, brother of Hal Mason?"

"Yep. That's me." Ben nods, in agreement. "How do you know my dad, and brother?"

"Well….You know..." Broderick begins, but doesn't finish – he doesn't say the next words in respect to the Mason family.

Ben finishes what Broderick was going to say, with a softer tone, "The stories?" he asks.

"Aye…Heard a few things 'bout you, your brother and your dad." Broderick says, honestly, because he has heard a few stories, mostly about Tom Mason, voluntarily walking onto an alien ship to protect his son. Broderick and the fellow marines heard a few stories about Ben and Hal, from members of the Second Mass, mostly civilians who were quick to talk about the spikes in the backs from the remains of the harnesses. "We talked to him, couple days ago, actually. Nice lad." Broderick adds.

"My dad?" Ben checks, with a slight frown; because he knows how wary Tom is of outsiders, and he hadn't gotten along with the marines at all, so he wonders why they would think his dad was being nice, towards them.

"No, your brother…." Broderick tells him. "Eh….Just so you know, Ben…We don't listen to all those stories an' you shouldn't either. If we are to go into the field, together, I'd be honoured to serve beside you and your family." he says; Broderick speaks loudly, because he would be honoured to be beside this family who has survived the treatment of the aliens, made it out alive, and continued to fight, despite the hardships that it is very likely that they faced.

"What happened, to you?" Pope asks, gesturing towards the blood that has seeped through Hal's dark blue shirt.

Hal looks down at the blood as though he has never seen it before and was entirely unaware he was bleeding from the wound – he was aware, he simply couldn't care about it. He hadn't had the bandaged changed or the wound tended to, since the attack, and had no intention of doing so.

The wound on his lower back, the two holes that remain where the spikes once were implanted, are surely infected by now as each movement he makes is slower than the previous.

The pain in his back, and spine, has increased and he's been bleeding, among other things, from the wound more often than earlier. He, however, doesn't mind or worry about this as in time he will no longer have any use of this body.

"Skitter." Hal replies, casually, as though it is something that has happened to everyone, and that the information that the blood that has stained his shirt means so very little to him.

"Where'd you find it? Out in the forest?" Pope queries, as he takes a step closer towards Hal who stands still and unmoving.

"Yes." he answers.

Pope nods, slightly, and asks, "What day was that?"

"The day that you found Ben and I exiting the forest…He was wounded." Hal says; he lifts his eyes to meet Pope's curious gaze, and he holds his gaze.

"How's a fighter, as skilled as yourself, get jumped by a skitter?" Pope asks, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Pope watches Hal as he waits for some or any kind of explanation or answer, because Pope does find it quite strange that Hal, who used to easily kill skitters, couldn't take on a skitter – with both the assistance of Ben, and their own weapons.

"I was unprepared." Hal replies, softly.

"Unprepared, with a rifle slung over your shoulder? And, what about those spikes in your back, aren't they supposed to enhance your strength and what not?" Pope asks; he's asking many, many questions.

The Overlord is running out of patience for the human, with his queries and questions, which he will not receive the answers he seeks.

Hal nods, as the words pass his pale lips, "Yes."

"Just strange, is all." Pope shrugs, slightly, as he begins to walk away from Hal. He stops walking, however, as Hal speaks.

"Many things in this world are." Hal answers; his voice is low as he speaks, and once he has spoken, he steps away from Pope, and begins moving down, towards the forest, following the same path that he had followed days earlier.

The Overlord had, for a moment, considered killing John Pope, and burying his body in the forest as he had buried the other, but he had decided against it because, very shortly, he would die anyway and his death would provide more satisfaction as the death that was coming to John Pope, and the rest of the Second Mass, would ignite a fear in their weak hearts, which would give him pleasure to see.

Their deaths were coming faster than they were aware of; they weren't aware of it, or anything, and even if they were, there was nothing that they could do to prevent the attack. He would, when it began, come out of the woods by choice and personally kill Tom Mason.

* * *

**A/N:  
I'd like to start this A/N with an apology for those of you who continue to read this story. I know, it has been quite some time since I have updated and I'd like to apologise, again, for that. The holidays were very busy here, as I'm sure they were everywhere else. It's been a chaotic time, and that's all I'll say on that.**

**If you're still hanging onto this story, with me, and still continue to read it then I'd like to thank you. I've lost a lot of views/reviews/followers on this story during the time that it has been up and I'm not going to complain, or get angry or beg for reviews or views because I'm not that type of person. All I am going to say is that for those of you who have stuck with me - I'm so incredibly happy that you have, your kind words boost my confidence about this story and I'm so grateful. Thanks also to the followers and favouriters; I'm just as grateful for you.**

**I hope that you all had a great holiday :) The updates will become more frequent from now on (my new years resolution is to update more frequently) ****Thanks to my lovely sister who always helps me, so very much. I owe you sis. :3**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy & Have a nice day****.  
P.S. I apologise in advance for any grammatical errors you may find. I search thoroughly for them but always tend to miss some. Please, let me know if you see any. Thank you.**


	49. Searching for a light in the distance

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline.)**

* * *

The morning is an unusually calm and quiet one, for the members of the Second Mass who remain; the fighters, and the doctors; Anne and Lourdes. Those who remain, behind, will be moving on, from this location, because they have become complacent here, because safety and security creates an environment of complacency, and complacency could, possibly, lead to their deaths.

The fighters, who remain, almost instantly begin loading up the trucks which remain and the med bus with all and any supplies which they will need.

Ben notices, about half an hour into packing up, that Hal is absent. He waits ten more minutes before he, finally, decides to go off in search of his brother. Ben manages to leave the front of the hospital, where the trucks are being loaded up, without being noticed and he goes out to the only place that he can think to find Hal; the forest.

It's where he has found him all of these times before, and it is, very likely, where he will find him now. Ben holds so many questions, for his brother, and so many worries, which he knows he should tell his father, but he doesn't want to add onto Tom's pain, and stress, over their separation with Matt.

To Ben, at this moment, he feels as though he has lost both of his brothers. He feels as though Hal never really came back, not entirely; he isn't who he was, before the warehouse. Ben knows that if he were in that position, Hal would do absolutely anything to help him. He always does. Despite their arguments, which are frequent, and their disagreements, most of the time, Ben knows that there is so much more to Hal than what he previously assumed years ago.

"I know you haven't been seeing Doctor Glass or Doctor Kadar." Ben states, as he sets his eyes upon Hal.

He's only a few metres in from the edge of the forest. He's standing still and almost frozen; in the same position that Ben had found Hal in, the last times that he came across him in the forest.

The last time that they were in the forest was different. Ben has been remembering flashes of that day; but only flashes.

"Do you?" Hal replies; he answers coolly, and calmly, and without looking back at Ben.

"Why?" Ben asks; his voice is soft, but confident.

Hal remains silent; he doesn't feel the need to justify the humans question with a response, and so, he remains still and quiet. The human continues to speak, though. And as he does, Hal turns, so very slowly, to face Ben.

Ben takes a step towards Hal, as he queries, "Did it work? Or it didn't, and you're ashamed?"

Hal answers, without a moment of hesitation, "I am not the one who should be ashamed."

"What?" Ben asks; a small frown has formed, onto his tired features.

"The human race should be ashamed of what they have committed; against their own, and against the innocent." Hal says; he watches Ben with an empty expression, but with a flicker of something in his eyes that Ben is entirely sure of.

The frown deepens, on Ben's features, and he remains silent, for a minute, until he finds the appropriate words to continue with.

"I remember the forest, Hal. You asked to see Eleedium." Ben tells him; despite his confident voice, he watches Hal with cautiousness.

"You are afraid of me." Hal says; he wasn't asking, but rather saying that, from what he has observed, Ben Mason is afraid of him.

"No, I'd never be afraid of you. Confused? Yep. But afraid – never," Ben replies, quickly. "You did ask about it, Hal. I remember and then….Look…If you freaked out and killed the skitter – it's OK. You attacked me, Hal. I remember. You're not yourself. We can get you help, Hal. You just need some help. You just need to admit that something's wrong. OK? I can see it. Something's different. Something has changed." Ben tells him; his tone consists of understanding but also wariness, towards his brother.

"May I ask you a question now, Ben?" Hal asks; as he speaks he tilts his head, ever so slightly, to the side.

Ben nods, and continues to watch Hal, with caution, as he waits for him to speak.

Hal's voice is soft, and frighteningly dark, as he asks, "How does it feel to know that the human race is nearing extinct?"

Ben straightens up, upon hearing this; he doesn't understand why Hal would ever say such a thing.

Ben replies, with a lower tone, "What the-"

"And that each breath that you take is leading to your last? How does it feel to know that you are absolutely and utterly insignificant?" Hal asks; as he speaks, he moves, slowly, towards Ben Mason. He ensures to hold his gaze as he asks these questions.

Ben glances, from Hal, ever so slightly, to the side, as though he is considering returning to the hospital, and finding his father. But he doesn't, instead he turns to face his brother; because Hal is still his brother, despite all this. There is something wrong with him, though, that's all. He can be fixed. They can fix him, help him, and heal him.

"You and the rest of the abomination named the human race, fight constantly, and unquestionably, for the lives of those who are not worthy to live." Hal announces; he walks, slowly, towards Ben, and only stops once he is a few feet before him. "I did expect that you would learn the truth, first. Despite that you are all pathetic, worthless, foul creatures- you preach that every life is worth living, every life is worth saving. But is it? Is a life truly worth living when it is bound to be one of disgust, corruption, blood and death? And is any life worth saving? You did not save your brother, Ben Mason. You failed to save your brother, who is of the same blood, bone and flesh as you." he says; disgust drips of the words '_pathetic, worthless and foul creatures'_, like a deadly poison; he speaks as though they disgust him and they are, truly, pathetic, worthless and foul. "You did not learn the truth first, though. Did you, Ben Mason? I will inform you of it, now, since you are going to die, soon enough." he adds in a lower, crazed tone.

Hal looks up, to meet Ben's gaze, as he asks, "I suppose, in a way, there are similarities between what I have done and what was done with the Trojan horse, in Troy, was it? Professor Mason would have, surely, taught you the histories of the earth, would he not?"

"I- don't….I don't understand, Hal." Ben says; this is all he finds that he can say, because he knows, now, what he has always felt, since the warehouse – this is not Hal.

This is not his brother speaking to him. And this is not his brother standing before him.

Standing before him is a stranger, a monster; a creature that he has not known, before.

It is a monster that he could, if he wanted to, defeat, but he doesn't, because the monster is his brother; he walks, and lives, and breathes, in the skin of his brother. His heart beats the same; and so it must be the same, Ben convinces himself. Hal must be the same.

"I am the Greek soldier, and your brother's body is the horse." Hal says; his voice is low, as he speaks, and he is careful to clearly enunciate each word, so that Ben Mason will learn, before he dies, of his mistakes, and his failures.

Ben continues to wear the same confused expression, as he takes a quick step away from Hal. "Who– I don't-I don't-" he asks; he still, somehow, manages to hold his brother's empty gaze.

"Did you really, truly, believe that creatures such as yourselves could kill me, so easily?" Hal questions; he speaks in a chilling, powerful tone that, to some degree, frightens Ben.

"The Es…Espheni?" Ben asks; he stutters, slightly, as he battles with the confusion and the fear that he feels rising inside of him.

It couldn't be – it isn't possible. There is no possible way that the Espehni – then, Ben remembers. He remembers the bug that they found, in Tom's eyes. No, Ben convinces himself, quickly. It can't be. All of this time – Ben won't allow himself to believe it, or think it, because it can't be true.

"Yes, Ben Mason." Hal replies, simply, and with the faintest hint of a smile on his pale lips. "You are your own enemies, Ben Mason – especially you, who cannot choose which side that you belong to; our side, or the humans."

The Overlord observes Ben Mason, slowly, lower his hand, to the weapon that is strapped across his chest. However, this does not cause the Overlord to be concerned, because he knows that Ben Mason, as all other humans, are too weak to do what is needed or what must be done.

"You will be forced to make the choice, before you die, Ben Mason, the side on which you stand. And heed my words, if you are to choose the human side, you will die. But first, you would watch your brother die." he tells Ben; as he speaks he takes one step, closer towards him. His voice rings with viciousness, and disgust, as he almost hisses, "When I am through with him, his body will be as feeble as his mind shall become. I have extracted each thought, memory and feeling in his mind – I know all of his fears, and what would cause him pain. I will kill you, first, and Professor Mason – because that it what he fears the most. I will draw it out, and kill you in every way that he fears, and every way I know you fear."

In one swift, quick movement, that Ben had not been exactly expected but he had not been completely unprepared for, Hal steps forward; he lifts his right hand to Ben's neck and grasps it tightly; he begins to, slowly, cut of his air.

"He did not tell you, did he, Ben Mason?" Hal asks; a deadly smile appears on his pale cheeks, as he continues to speak in the same low, venomous tone. "Your brother did not divulge to you his deepest and innermost fears? His fears are that you will suffer what he suffered. He fears that you will be strung up by hooks and cut open with knives as he was. He fears you will be tortured as he was – He is a tortured soul, your brother, Hal Mason. He is also a pathetic, useless, weak one - a dead one, too, in hours, perhaps less. However, you Ben Mason; you have always interested me. But your brothers, and your father, the weaklings…They are lost to us. They are lost to you. I will have the pleasure of watching them die, of killing them myself as I did the other human - You, however, may prove to be of use, yet, Ben Mason.

As Ben hears those last words echo through his mind he cannot, despite his hardest attempts and his constant struggle, break free of the Espheni's grasp. In moments, that come too quickly, the outside world, which Ben so desperately longs to stay in so that he may warn his father, disappears and he succumbs to the dark unconscious state, which he once left his brother in.

Hal, who discards Ben's body, violently and carelessly, on the ground, walks towards the nearest tree, and reaches behind it for the rope, which he'd placed there the earlier morning. Ben Mason _may _potentially be of use to him; this does not mean he will treat him any differently, or show him any mercy. He will treat him as he does the other humans, whom he loathes.

He returns to Ben Mason's unconscious body, and binds his wrists and ankles tightly together; then, he drags his body towards the tree which he'd placed the rope near, and binds him to the tree; he won't be able to free himself, and no humans will find him, not out here, and not with all that they will, in a matter of moments, soon be confronted with. Before he leaves Ben Mason's broken body, tied to the tree, he uses what little is left of the rope, what rope he didn't need to bind his body to the tree, to place inside, and around his mouth; to prevent him from calling out for help. Even if he were to wake, and call out for help, it is very likely that help will not come, to him, as there will be no one to help, however he covers his mouth just as precaution.

* * *

Maggie had spent most of her morning packing up the trucks, with supplies and all else they would need for their journey onwards. She found that she couldn't bring herself to go inside; not alone, and not for very long. She would go inside and fetch the supplies, with Tector, or Pope, and even Isaac, and she would then carry supplies back out to the trucks – but she didn't speak more than a few words to any of them because she wasn't in the mood for talking and they seemed to understand that – except for Isaac who was constantly chattering in Maggie's ear.

She had finished packing up supplies with him, over an hour ago, and had now found herself off, in search for Isaac, as Weaver had ordered her to go on a quick, last minute, patrol and since Isaac had become her designated partner, for patrols and any other searches, then she would need to find him.

Isaac stands, at a complete still for a moment, as his right hand grips, tightly, onto the bark of the tree which he'd relied upon, for the past few minutes, to keep himself upright and standing. His eyes remain closed, and his lips pressed together; as he tried to tell himself that this wasn't happening, not now, not again – it couldn't be happening.

It had been months since he'd felt something so bad, so similar, and now it was here, and he knew that despite how badly he wanted to pretend it wasn't happening, or that he could fight it, he couldn't do a thing but accept the inevitable, and wait for it to be over, again.

He stepped back, almost staggering away from the tree and stopped – he needed to do this on his own. He could do this on his own, he convinced himself – he had always been in this alone, and this time was no different. But it felt different, this time.

This time it felt worse; it always felt bad, but this pain was consuming all of him and he didn't want to fight it. He wanted to let the pain take him, and never let him go, because he'd be free, then, free of all of this.

His hands, which are quivering, involuntarily, move down to the side of his legs, and he stands, so straight for a moment; there had been a numbness in his knees before; in these months that had just passed, he had felt a numbness that would change, between his knees, and sometimes, and these were the times he dreaded, the numbness would hit both of his knees.

This time, it was different. The numbness remained below his knee; but above his knee, he couldn't feel anything, in his right leg. Even as he presses his right hand, down, into his leg, in an attempt to feel something, to feel anything, he cannot feel a thing.

Isaac closes his eyes, again, now, and lets out a very long, deep, shaky sigh, that soon, turns into a cry, which he cannot contain because as he opens his eyes the vision in his left is eye blurry and a darker colour than what he can see in his right.

He staggers, now, towards the small and gentle stream of water only a few feet away. His leg disagrees with him; it does not want to move when he does, and this frustrates him, infuriates him, and causes him great agony.

But still, despite this, he continues on towards the stream and he reaches it, despite his agony, and inability to walk properly with his right leg.

Kneeling down before the water is much more difficult than he had imagined it would be and he, instantly regrets it but he's so close, now – so close to the cold water which will soothe his skin, and ease the pain that he has felt, constantly, in his head and neck, in these past months. He finds that his hands are still shaking as he lowers himself down, onto his knees – but due to his inability to feel anything in his right knee he cannot lean on it properly and finds himself sitting instead of kneeling beside the stream.

He lowers his hands into the water and cups it; shaking, still, he lifts the water to his face, and allows it to run down from the top of his head and down his forehead, nose, eyelids, cheeks and lips. He had come out here, to the forest, because he'd known what was coming.

Perhaps, he was so used to relapsing that he had been aware of what was to come – he wasn't sure how he had known this time, what would come, but inside, he knew it was best for him to come here, to get away from the Second Mass, and his brother. He knew it was best for him to be alone, now, because he would always be alone in this.

"Isaac?" Maggie voice, calls out, above the sounds of the water, falling, softly, down the stream and, gently, hitting the rocks beneath it.

Isaac believed that he was, in a way, like the rocks, beneath the stream; his family, his friends, and any close to him, would often cut or harm themselves, around him, and he wasn't capable of preventing it, stopping it, or fixing it, and he was aware of this and still he feared that they would disappear just as the rocks feared that the water would dry up and they would be left alone, entirely.

Her voice is a gentle, soothing sound, just as the water is, and it does not frighten Isaac but rather catches him off guard.

He doesn't turn to face her because he's afraid she'll see his shaking, or request for him to stand, when he isn't capable of walking, properly, just yet – and if he looks at her, and all vision is gone from one of his eyes, he is terrified of what he would feel, so, instead of turning, and facing Maggie, or looking at her, he remains, seated, before the stream, with his eyes closed.

"Uhh….Yes, Maggie?" he replies; his voice is unsteady, and low, as he attempts to conceal his current situation from her.

"We have patrol. What are you doing out here?" she answers; her voice becomes louder as she steps towards him – something that he wished she wouldn't do.

"Switch it or something…." he tells her, with a louder tone.

"Can you just – stand up, so we can have this conversation face to face?" she asks, because she doesn't particular like talking to someone's back.

"OK…" Isaac mutters; his voice is low, and almost inaudible, as he answers her.

As Maggie steps closer, towards Isaac, she can see clearly that something is different, something has happened. His shoulders are almost hunched, over the water's edge, and his voice is much darker, and lower, than she remembers it being earlier in the day when they had spoken.

"So, what are you doing down here?" Maggie asks, as she watches Isaac stand.

He moves, very slowly, and stands even slower; it takes time for him to stand as he can only, in this moment, use his left leg. He stands by attempting to push all of his weight off, onto, his left leg. He stands, finally, and turns using his left leg to move around, to face Maggie.

She's watching him with both a curiosity and a suspicion, as to why he is out here and why he is acting the way that he is acting.

"What do…..You want, Maggie?" he asks; he sounds tired, and irritable, as he finally meets her gaze; he finds, as he looks down upon her, that his gaze is still blurry and still dark, and dull, in comparison to his right eye and this panics him because he's been through this before, but not to this extent and he isn't sure how this can be fixed.

"We have patrol." Maggie answers, simply; she watches him, still carefully, as she speaks.

Her eyes flicker over him; as they do she notices the specks of sweat staining his forehead and neck, and that his left eye is not looking, directly, at her as his right his. She frowns, slightly, but otherwise stays silent.

"Can't you….Uh…I don't – Get someone else? Tector, maybe? I don't know. I can't help you, there." Isaac says; his voice is still shaky, as he lowers his gaze, from her, and to the ground, just before her.

Maggie's frown deepens, as she hears his words, and she shakes her head, slightly, as she answers, "What do you mean, 'I can't help you, there,' – you're my partner for patrol."

Isaac stays silent for just over a minute, as he continues to focus on the spot of grass, and the single blue flower,on the ground, only a few feet away from the two of them. That flower; it's familiar to him. It's a reminder of his mother, and father, and their garden that was filled with flowers just like this.

"No." he answers, finally, and with a colder tone. "I'm not your partner, Maggie. I'm a temporary replacement, an attempt at integration; an experiment. So, please, find someone else to replace me. I can't help you – today. Not today- so can you go, please, Maggie? Go, now."

Maggie shakes her head, as she steps, closer, towards Isaac. She meets his gaze, despite that he had intentionally been avoiding hers, before she says, "We have patrol."

He is the one who shakes his head, now; he does so, slowly, before he says in an almost pleading tone, "Please, go."

She won't listen, though; despite his almost pleading tone, and his tired, worn, and also slightly frightened expression, Maggie won't let him be; she won't leave him alone because they have patrol, together; and this is something stable, in her life, something that she has been able to count on, recently, when she hasn't had anything else stable in her life.

She won't leave Isaac because she can see, in his deep green eyes, with the tiniest spots of blue, that something has changed, it's different; something is wrong.

Maggie continues, with a confident, and caring, tone, as she says, "We have patrol, Isaac – we need to patrol-"

"You need to leave!" Isaac snaps; he didn't intend to, and he regrets it immediately, but still, he cannot contain himself, or his anger towards himself and all that is wrong with him.

When Isaac raises voice, just as he has now, Maggie can see, clearly, the similarities between he and his brother Logan; they both hold tempers, the only difference is that Isaac hides his; he keeps his under the surface where it cannot be seen and cannot hurt a soul.

Also in his eyes hides his anger and rage, Maggie can see pain; and she sees so much pain, it's almost as though she's looking in the reflection, into her own eyes; their pain is almost mirrored, almost exact, and almost identical with darkness.

"OK?" he continues, still with the loud, angry tone; he's not angry with Maggie, he's angry with himself, and all that continues to fail him. "You need to leave me alone, Maggie. Go." he speaks forcefully, now, and still with an angry tone, but there's a shakiness to it, that wasn't there before, and an edginess to it.

Maggie hesitates; she takes in a small, short breath of air, presses her lips together and then releases the sigh. Isaac is still wearing the same expression, as earlier, only it's much harder to read, much harder to decode and she can't read it – and she hadn't read it earlier because she hadn't thought much of it. She hadn't thought to try and read his expression or his eyes, before, and now, it was too late.

"Isaac….." Maggie says; she says his name so softly, and with such care, that it's soothing for him to hear.

But, despite that her voice soothes him, and calms him, and reminds him of the kindness he once felt, very long ago, he cannot let her stay because he doesn't want her here. He can't have her here.

"Leave." he speaks, still forcefully, with a lower tone, which holds less anger, and less pain, and more edginess and weariness. "Please….." he adds.

Maggie takes a smaller step, towards Isaac, and says, softly, "We have-"

Isaac attempts to straighten up, physically, now; his leg is still numb, from the knee up, he can't feel a thing, but he doesn't want to show this, to Maggie, or to anyone else, and so, he stands tall, and announces, "I am Staff Sergeant Isaac Hatchet, of the United States Marine Corps."

Maggie nods, as she says, "Yes, I know-"

"Captain Daniel Weaver, First in Command of the Second Massachusetts Militia Regiment decreed that all members of the United States Marine Corps shall be treated with the appropriate respect." Isaac states; he cuts Maggie off, and does not hesitate to continue speaking with a much louder, and calmer, tone, than earlier, "He also decreed that you will oblige, if reasonable and relevant, their commands. Therefore, you will follow my orders, as they are directed to you, and you will follow the following order; you are to commence your patrol with Alowicious Murphy, otherwise referred to as Tector, immediately."

Maggie holds Isaac's gaze, for a moment, and stays silent as she considers how exactly she will respond to this, and what exactly is going on with Isaac.

"What's going on?" she asks him, finally, deciding just to ask, rather than leave it be.

"You will follow your orders, Miss Margaret. Your patrol started five minutes ago. You are already late. Each moment you spend here is a moment wasted patrolling, and therefore delaying our entire movement. You will commence your patrol, now, Miss Margaret." Isaac orders; he speaks with a far more impassive tone, and with an unreadable expression, now, as he glances away from her.

When he looks up again, much to his relief, Maggie is gone; and this is exactly what he wanted, it's what he needed, and it's come, just in time – his leg gives out on him, now, and he reaches back with his right hand onto the tree behind him and slowly slides down it; he lowers himself, slowly, down onto the forest ground, surrounded and covered by leaves, mud and grass.

His hands are shaking more significantly, now, and he's lost almost all control over them. He knows what this means; he's always known what it would mean, if he were to relapse, or if it were to flare up – the doctor had told him before the war, but he hadn't listened. His mother had been there, with him; she had known all of this.

His mother had been aware of all of his faults, his failures, his weaknesses and strengths, and his illnesses, just as his father had also been aware. However, Logan hadn't known before the war and he'd never know because Isaac would never tell him; he couldn't tell him.

It was in this moment of fear, desperation, loneliness and darkness that Isaac realized he had been in a denial for these past months; denial over all those he had lost, and denial about the inevitable; and once this shadow of denial was lifted he could see how truly alone he was and always would be.

"What're you doin' back, Maggie?" Tector calls out, upon catching sight of her; he had just finished loading the last of the supplies into the back of one of the trucks, and was about to go and do one last check, inside of the hospital, to see if they had missed anything, or would need anything else.

"You've been reassigned…." Maggie tells him; her voice is low, but still confident, and holds no traces of any emotions, or feelings. "We have patrol." she adds.

She won't allow herself to be put into that position, again; with Hal, or with anyone. Hal had been the only one she had wanted to let in, entirely and completely and always, but that had turned out so badly, that she'd never let him in, again, or anyone else. Even if, they somehow managed to find their ways back to each other, and how and who they were before, things wouldn't be the same.

Things couldn't really be the same between them, again. Maggie knew that, her mind screamed it at her, and the memories she would relive of her and Hal, together, before all of this, cruelly taunted her that things would never be how they were before,even if she had wanted them to.

It doesn't matter how many times you try, desperately, to tell yourself that things can go back to how they were, they never really can – you can believe, for some time, that they will but then you will find yourself coming to the realisation that those things you wish to relive, the way you wish things could back to, don't exist anymore.

They're gone, forever, and you cannot reach them and you cannot relive them. All that you can do, it's what you're destined to do, is agonise over what you could have done or said, and what words you wished you hadn't spoken or things you wished you hadn't done.

It is now, when you accept the inevitable; that it doesn't exist anymore, then you will come to another realisation; there is no going back. You cannot travel to the past and right your wrongs or fix your mistakes. You cannot bring back a person who is lost, almost entirely, even if they are in some way still with you, you can't. There is no going back; there is only remaining frozen as you are or going forward.

**A/N: This one is for Jia-Lerman-Jonas and JoyScott13 whose kind words motivated me to update another chapter as soon as I possibly could. Also for my sister, who is ever so helpful and patient!**

**I have some information about my O/C characters that I'd like to share with you as I realise that you may be having a hard time imaging who/what they look like, so I've picked a few celebrities whom I based their looks of and I hope this may make it easier for you to picture them as you read my fic AND as you picture them, remember that they are in a war and so they will have scars, dirt, messy unkempt hair and etc. and they will not look as they do in movies and etc. I'm just trying to be realistic while helping you put a face to a name and these are the faces I put to the names, if you do not that is understandable and picture whoever you want. I'm just trying to help.**

**Logan Hatchet; I imagined him looking like Matthew McConaughey (Tall, well built, light brown hair and deep green and blue eyes.)**  
**Isaac Hatchet; Somewhat like Alex Pettyfer (well built, short-ish blonde hair with green and blue eyes.)**

**Conor Taberski; James Franco-ish (short dark brown hair, but thick, pushed back off his face. Brown eyes.) **  
**Broderick Sweeney; Gerad Butler-y (thick, curled black hair almost reaching shoulders. Dark brown eyes.)**  
**Ronald Wolfram; Looking like Michael Fassbender; (Tall, short light brown hair with dark blue eyes.)**

* * *

**If you find any grammatical errors please let me know. I apologize in advance.**

**Thanks for taking the time to read and enjoy.**


	50. Needing someone to save a life

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

All of the soldiers, excluding Logan who is inside with Captain Weaver and Isaac who still remains away from the hospital, are outside the front of the hospital. Most have only just finished loading the rest of the supplies onto the trucks and checking that all the required and needed supplies have been stored onto the backs and insides of the trucks. They wait for the word of confirmation from the Captain for all to move out.

Tom, who had caught sight of Hal stepping out slowly from the side of the hospital, watches as he moves towards the area where all of the trucks are parked and where all of the soldiers stand.

Hal walks very slowly towards the trucks, and those who remain of the Second Mass, and as he walks his eyes move over each and every one of them as he takes in each and every detail of them.

Tom calls out to Hal, loudly, as he steps towards him. "Hal!"

When Hal fails to respond, Tom steps forward and walks towards him. Upon reaching him he says, with a low tone, "We need to talk."

"Your time will come in moments." Hal replies; his voice is a mixture of calm and cold.

Hal's hollow face, and his eyes which are dark, are devoid of any signs of humanity or form of feeling or emotion.

The Overlord wishes for Tom Mason to die and he wishes to be the one who draws the life from his worthless, pathetic body but first he wishes for Tom Mason to suffer something that would be worse to him then death.

He knows how badly Professor Mason would suffer by watching those, whom he tirelessly defends and protects, in the Second Mass die painful deaths.

Hal attempts to step past Tom, towards his chosen target, but finds that he cannot move past Tom because he moves as Hal does, blocking his way.

Anthony, who had stepped in with Weaver only a few minutes earlier, approaches Tom, and Hal, and begins, "Tom, Captain Weaver wants me to tell-"

Anthony cannot finish words because Hal, whose finger had lingered on the trigger of his rifle, points his gun at Anthony's shoulder and pulls the trigger.

He had not wanted to kill the man, but rather cause him pain because he was aware of how the humans feared them and so he would gain pleasure watching those they referred to as 'skitters' tearing the humans body to pieces in the coming moments.

The shot is an unexpected one not only to Anthony and Tom, but to the entire Second Mass who had not expected Hal to fire on this own comrade.

Anthony clutches tightly at his right shoulder where the bullet hit him; it's a through and through shot but still the pain is excruciating. The blood trickles of his hand and falls down onto his chest, staining him. Anthony knows he will have to receive treatment soon. He stumbles backwards, away from Hal, and falls down on to his back.

The Overlord had fired upon the human now because he had, seconds earlier, accessed the information that the attack against the humans was seconds away and that they were closing in on the area now.

He knows that there is not a thing that a single soul in the Second Mass can do to stop this or win this because they never stood a chance at winning; they were only foolish enough to believe they did.

In retaliation against Hal open firing on Anthony the Marines who stand outside the hospital, Broderick, Ronald and Conor, ready their guns and aim them directly at Hal Mason. They are ready, and prepared, to fire if Hal so much as considers shooting again.

Maggie, Tector, Dai and Anthony stare at Hal with a deep confusion and wariness, as all others stare at him with, but it is different with them.

They are Hal's friends who have always respected him; they had overlooked the harness and the spikes, and his disappearance for those months, because what was on the surface didn't matter, it didn't count at all. It was, and always would be, what was on the inside, in Hal's heart, that mattered the most to them.

Now, they couldn't be certain what was in his heart. Now, they couldn't trust him as they could before. This wasn't the Hal they had grown to care for. This wasn't there Hal at all.

The Overlord views the humans watching him, with confusion and rage and an inability to understand, and finds this sight pleasing as he detests them so deeply and has always known that these feeble, worthless creatures have been unable to understand much at all during their pathetic existence on earth.

Tom, who had kneeled down by Anthony's side and had placed pressure on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, stays by Anthony's side until Anne and Lourdes attend to his wound.

Hal takes a step towards Tom and Anthony, before he tells Tom, "Stand."

He orders Tom Mason to do this because he must witness this without doing a thing to assist these weaklings.

Anthony, who looks up past Tom towards Hal, sighs before he calls out, "What the hell, Hal?"

Anthony doesn't understand what he has done, to Hal, to cause him to do such a thing. He considered Hal to be a friend, a good one, and a good person whom he could always, undoubtedly, rely on in times of need, battle or desperation.

Tom looks up now to see Anne and Lourdes, only a few feet away, moving towards them.

Hal moves his gun from where it had pointed at the ground towards Anne and Lourdes. He keeps it there as he watches the two women stop, immediately; they stop, for now, as Anne will attempt to reason with Hal, quickly, before she and Lourdes tend to Anthony.

"Hal….You don't want to do this." Anne says; her tone is still soft, understanding and kind despite what he has done.

Anne sadly believes that Hal may be, after all of the trauma he has faced in these pat months, be experiencing a mental snap. It is not uncommon for people who have experienced things, such as Hal has, to break and to not be able to cope any longer.

What Hal needs is help and not judgement and Anne will try her best to help Hal because she cares for him so very much and has only ever wanted to help him, and his brothers.

"It's OK, Hal. No one is going to hurt you…." Anne says, reassuringly. "I need you to help Anthony, Hal, or he's going to die. You don't want that to happen, do you?" she asks.

Anne hesitates before she continues, "You and Anthony, you're friends. No one will hurt you if you allow us to help him."

"It's another human life dead which means absolutely nothing to me. Let him bleed to death." Hal says; he speaks clearly and calmly as he continues to keep his gun aimed at Anne.

Tector, who hadn't previously lifted his gun at Hal because he considered him to be a good friend, lifts his gun now as does Lee and Lyle.

The moment that Hal had pulled the trigger Pope had aimed his gun at Hal and kept it there, ready to fire if Hal were to fire another shot.

Maggie, who had not been able to believe that Hal had done such a thing as he had just done, had remained silent and unmoving and had not reached for her gun because despite everything she would never aim her gun at Hal. She couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.

Ronald Wolfram calls out, loudly and confidently, "Lower your weapon or we will shoot."

Ronald, Conor and Broderick step, slowly, towards Hal as he continues to keep his gun aimed at Lourdes and Anne.

"Put your weapon down, son. You don't want to be doing this." Weaver calls out; he and Logan had run towards the front of the hospital at the first sound of the gun shot.

Weaver cannot begin to understand what Hal Mason, or any member of the Mason family, has endured in these past months. He has endured his own losses and battled with his own demons and pain but it has not been to the same extent as what they have endured and battled with and it now seems that Hal has lost his battle with his demons and pain; but he's also lost a battle with himself.

"Put down your weapon, lad, or we will shoot you." Broderick says; he warns Hal, of what will come, if he does not lower his weapon.

Broderick does not particularly want to harm the young man as he has heard many stories of what Hal Mason has endured, and what he and his family have endured, and what they have done for the Second Mass. They have been involved, from the very beginning, in the battle against the aliens and they have done so very much and assisted however they can but if he must shoot him to protect the lives of others then he will do so.

Hal replies, coldly, and with absolutely no traces of humanity in his voice, "You are mistaken. This has been something I have longed to do for some time now."

Broderick and Logan, simultaneously, shout, "Drop your weapon, or we will shoot."

"I would not be so wise as to move, Doctor Glass, or you will soon see what a human head looks like, once a bullet destroys it, entirely." Hal says; he moves the gun in the direction of Lourdes now; he keeps it there, for a minute, as he holds Anne's gaze.

"We're not moving, Hal." Anne tells him; despite all of this, her voice is still soft. "We're not going to move." she adds, with a louder, more confident tone.

Hal glances, briefly, from Doctor Glass to Tom Mason, before he says, "I am basking in this time, with the knowledge that I hold; the knowledge of your imminent deaths."

"You would not be so wise as to take another shot, or you will feel what it is like to have a bullet destroy your body." Logan says; he speaks violently, and angrily, and with a tone that is intended to frighten Hal Mason into lowering his weapon but it does no such thing.

Tom, who had stood from the ground beside Anthony, seconds earlier, attempts to reason with his son. He knows that he needs to stop Hal; he also knows he should have tried harder to help his son because if he had tried harder then perhaps things wouldn't be as they are now.

"Hal….Please, put down the gun. You don't have to do this. It's OK, Hal. You're going to be fine." Tom says; he speaks in a low tone filled mostly, with fear; fear that his son will harm another or fear what will happen to his son in the moments to come.

"Hal, please, put it down." Tom pleads; he takes a slow almost cautious step towards Hal and only stops when Hal lowers his gun, ever so slightly.

Maggie, who had for a moment considered trying to stop Hal, moves; she decides that she will try to stop him because she only, despite everything, wants to protect him. It's all that she has ever, truly, wanted to do and now she must do so. Despite what he is and what he has become, he is still Hal and she will still protect him until her last breath of air.

Maggie walks slowly towards Hal; she also walks with a caution that she has attempted to hide because she's trying to show him she isn't fearful of him even if she is.

"Put your gun down, Hal. And we can walk away. We'll just walk away." Maggie says; she speaks loudly so that he will clearly hear her words.

Hal knows that she is lying. Everyone in the Second Mass is aware of that because he can't just walk away, not after what he has done to Anthony. Maggie catches Hal's full attention and gaze; just as she wanted to.

He lowers his weapon from Lourdes and Anne and ignores them completely. Anne moves towards Anthony, quickly, with no concern towards what Hal will do to her if he turns to find her tending to Anthony.

Hal lifts his gun towards Maggie; and he's ready to shoot her, his finger falls onto the trigger as he gazes into her eyes, which are surprisingly empty of fear, and pulls the trigger.

Hal had intended to shoot her, to kill her; but his plan, his intentions, do not work exactly as he'd planned to but still it fails to bother him because a human has still been injured, and weakened – John Pope, who had been standing only a few feet to the side of Maggie had, once catching sight of Hal lifting the gun, pushed Maggie behind him – the bullet had hit his chest causing him to fall down instantly on the ground.

A groan passes Pope's lips as he attempts to keep pressure on the wound – he knows that it isn't good, immediately; the bullet could have hit a lung or an internal organ and it's very likely that his lung will be filling with blood as he lies in the dirt bleeding out.

The next shot comes from Logan Hatchet; he fires without hesitation at Hal Mason; he'd been close enough to kill him with a single shot to the head or to a vital body organ but he hadn't wanted to kill the boy so easily, as he himself was painfully aware of the haunting, nearly crippling pain that came with the loss of a child.

That loss would never leave you, despite how much time had passed and how much pain had been felt, the loss never truly left.

The bullet fired by Logan grazes Hal's left leg; it scrapes the side of his knee causing no real harm or damage to him. Logan had been hopeful that this shot would weaken Hal, significantly, and allow them to take control of the situation.

Hal doesn't flinch nor does he make a sound; he gives no indication that he felt the bullet which had deeply grazed his skin. Instead, he moves his gun so that it is positioned directly at Maggie – one shot from his gun and she would be dead.

It would put an end to her pathetic, weak, miserable existence, the Overlord believed.

And just as he reached to pull the trigger, Logan fired; this time he had been aiming for the hand which Hal had been holding the gun in. He shoots, aiming at his right shoulder; the bullet, just as Logan had intended it to, grazes the skin at Hal's shoulder.

Now, a grimace appears on Hal's pale features. But he does not falter; he does not give any indication or a human response towards the pain that he must certainly be feeling.

Hal turns, very slowly, to look upon Tom Mason whose face is pale and devoid of emotion; but his eyes are filled with worry, pain, concern, and fear.

A few tears, which The Overlord finds extremely weak and pathetic, have fallen onto Tom Mason's cheeks.

"Hal…." Tom says; he speaks so quietly, that his voice is almost that of a whisper.

Hal's eyes flicker down to the gun that Tom Mason now holds in his hands; his rifle, and he is pointing it, directly, at Hal.

"You will not shoot me. You can't bring yourself to do such a thing." Hal tells Tom; his tone is almost that of a tone of mockery, as he speaks.

Hal shows no concern for the blood that trickles down his body. He has no concern because in moments all humans here will be dead and he will, for the time, occupy another human's body and mind; Ben Mason's.

"Put the gun down, Hal." Tom says; this time he speaks with far less confidence.

There is also fear to be found in Tom Mason's voice; Tom does not fear Hal because Hal is his son and he will always love him - he fears that he allowed his son to become this way.

Tom had been so foolish as to believe, for a time, that Hal would be okay and that he could move past all of the horrible things he has been through and all that he has witnessed and done with his own hands but Tom now knows, truly in his heart, that it was never really possible for Hal to move past those things; not when in his every waking moment was a reminder of what he had done, what had been done to him, and what he could never do.

Hal obliges and carelessly tosses the weapon to the side; he has no further use for it, and knows, now, that not a thing will happen to him because these humans will be too preoccupied with the battle, to come, where they will be completely and entirely destroyed.

Maggie does not glance up towards the gun which Hal has discarded on the ground; she keeps her eyes focused on Pope as she keeps the pressure on his chest until Lourdes moves to join her.

"What now? Are you going to shoot me, Dad?" Hal asks; a venomous disgust drips of the word 'Dad', as though he is disgusted by Tom Mason, and he is utterly and completely repulsed by him. "Are you? Please, do so. It would give me the ultimate pleasure for you to do so…." Hal says; as he speaks, slowly, and enunciating each word, he steps towards Tom with his hands raised, slowly, in the air. "To feel the bullet rupture the skin and destroy the insides….."

Hal stops only as he reaches Tom; he overpowers him and with Tom's hands still firmly on his rifle he forces Tom to put the gun to Hal's chest; to the exact location of his beating heart. "One shot, and I'm dead. It's only one shot, and then, it will all be over."

The Overlord sense a great deal of fear, and pain, in Tom Mason as he holds a weapon, that could in a matter of seconds bring the death of his son, in his slightly shaking hands.

It is now as Tom holds the rifle to Hal Mason's chest that the Overlord feels _them_ coming. And they will kill the humans, quickly, and it will give him the ultimate pleasure to see them do so.

Now, as Tom presses the gun to Hal Mason's beating heart, he hears the undeniable sound of mechs; they come out of the forest seconds after their sound can be heard ringing through the air and sending chills through all.

All heads, of all outside of the hospital, spin around quickly and towards the direction of the sound of mechs – but, they aren't coming from one single direction, but rather several.

Logan moves towards Hal Mason so very quickly and without hesitation, he grabs him violently by the collar of his shirt and holds him up, a few feet off of the ground.

"What did you do?" he asks; his voice is filled with such strong anger and violence that it should terrify Hal Mason to hear these words but it does not because it is not Hal Mason hearing them.

"I merely assisted in the removal of the human race." Hal replies; as he answers, the beginnings of a grimace form on his features.

Weaver had begun, as soon as he had heard the incoming sound of mechs, shouting orders at all fighters, with the exception of Pope and Anthony. Weaver ordered Lourdes and Anne to assist Pope and Anthony, down to the basement of the hospital, and to completely barricade them in.

Weaver had reassured them, without any doubt, that they would not allow any mechs, skitters, or crawlies to harm them, but just as a precaution he gave them each a rifle.

It was only as the four of them moved inside did the mechs begin coming out of the forest – the sight of them causes a smile to spread, a wide one, onto Hal Mason's pale features. This smile angers Logan so badly that he discards Hal's body onto the ground and in one swift movement, as Hal looks up at him from the ground, bloodied and grinning, Logan hits him so violently in the head with the end of his gun that he falls unconscious immediately.

Hal can, in this moment, be considered as a liability to them and they cannot afford to deal with him and therefore Logan considers this to be the only option that they have.

It is only as Anne, Lourdes, and Anthony and Pope, who are both badly bleeding, get inside the hospital doors, does the firing start.

The firing starts on the Second Mass' side; Logan and Broderick had wasted no time in getting into the back of the Humvees where they can, easily, access the machine guns on the top of the trucks; they begin shooting, madly but methodically, at the mechs who have exited the forest – there are three of them, in eyesight, but Logan is almost certain that there will be more, behind the hospital, and so he orders Ronald and Conor to head towards the back of the hospital – two members of the Berserkers, Lyle and Lee, volunteer to go with the marines around the back and they run, so very quickly – they can't allow the aliens to gain the upper hand on them.

And, if the mechs and skitters are, indeed, coming in from both the front and the back of the hospital then it would only be a matter of time before they were caught, in a trap, from all sides and their chances of escaping that are considered to be extremely slim.

Tom, who had spent only a brief moment staring down helplessly at his eldest son's lifeless and limp body, moves towards the truck of the Second Mass which holds the machine gun positioned on top of it.

Hopefully, if Pope still had a few mech bullets he may find them in the back of the truck. He has to, quickly, climb over a few boxes to reach the gun and upon reaching it he bends down and searches frantically through the boxes piled up on the bottom of the truck. He searches, rapidly, through two boxes before finding a bag which he recognises as belonging to Pope.

He rifles through the contents of the bag, knowing that if Pope was aware of this he would surely be beyond mad, but Tom doesn't mind and he doesn't think of that because as soon as his fingers find five silver mech bullets, that Pope must have been keeping for a situation like this, Tom couldn't care whether Pope would be mad.

As Tom, quickly, removes a few bullets from the machine gun as to make room for the mech bullets he reminds himself that he will have to, at a later and more appropriate time, thank Pope immensely for this.

He looks down ever so briefly at Maggie, Captain Weaver, Tector and Dai, who are shooting directly and quickly at the skitters – and it is now, in this moment, that for the briefest second things seem, to Tom Mason, to slow down. It's only briefly but it's enough for him to see the skitters which have come up from the side of the hospital – there are at least fifteen skitters on the one side.

This is madness; complete, absolute and utter madness, and Tom fears, in this moment, that they may not be able to escape this madness.

"Dan, behind you! Skitters!" Tom calls out; he calls out, so very quickly, so that he may alert them.

He then redirects the machine gun to the nearest mech and fires a mech bullet. The first, at its head – it blows a huge hole in the centre of its metal head, almost blowing it's head off – and as he thinks that, he can almost hear Pope saying his speech about blowing skitter's heads off.

Broderick, who has quickly redirected the aim of his machine gun, calls out to Tom, "Tom, think you can take care of these bastards, aye?"

Tom nods, quickly, as he answers, "I can."

Broderick nods, and begins firing, madly, at the skitters in his range. He hits, and kills, a skitter that was so very close to attacking Tom Mason and then continues firing madly at them.

The storm, the battle, which Tom had feared was coming was upon them and he wasn't prepared for this. He doubts that anyone, here, in the Second Mass was prepared for a storm, a fight, such as this.

Just as Tom had blown the head off a third mech and was about to turn the gun on the skitters a darkness covers them in the sky – a darkness that they are unprepared for and for a moment, unsure of, and then the haunting memory returns as he realizes what they are; they are flying ships, of the Overlords, which have the ability to drop catastrophic bombs onto cities; lighting them up, and destroying areas of them, entirely.

And just as Tom had feared, and remembered, the first bomb is dropped; and it falls onto the truck on which he stands upon – he manages, just, to get away from the centre of the blast but still he is thrown through the air, and falls, bloodied, burned and broken only a few feet from his sons broken body.

The blast of the bomb also sent Captain Weaver, Maggie, Tector and Dai, through the air, and momentarily knocks over Logan and Broderick. The ship moves, now, and Tom knows where they are headed – towards the other side of the hospital.

"How is it controlling them?" Tom calls out; he stumbles over, first, in his attempt to stand, and he's not entirely sure who he is calling out to these questions that confuse him deeply.

The Espheni was dead; Tom killed it and so all military activity should have ceased. This shouldn't be happening.

Broderick, who had cast a quick look over the bloodied and limp bodies over the skitters had called out to Tector; he'd asked him to drive the Humvee, while he was on the gun, so that they could follow the ship and take it down.

Just as the Humvee Broderick and Tector are in moves, speedily, towards the back of the hospital another mech appears; Weaver, Dai and Maggie, who had been lying in its target range, barely manage to escape it's mech ray; the only one to sustain injuries, however, is Dan; he receives a slight burn to his left ankle but now is far from the appropriate time for him to care for such things.

The three of them get up, so very quickly, and continue shooting at the mech; Tom, who had placed the two remaining mech bullets in the pocket of his long black jacket runs towards Logan who is shooting at the mech – but there is not much point shooting at a mech with normal bullets, even the bullets of the US Marines, fails to slow them down significantly.

Tom climbs up onto the back of the Humvee; he stumbles, mostly, towards Logan as he is now extremely unsteady on his feet, due to his new injuries, but he does not consider this to be the time for him to think or worry about such things. That time will surely come later.

"Here. Use this." Tom says; as he speaks he passes the silver bullet to Logan.

Logan takes the bullet without hesitation and without a word; he places it in an empty slot in the gun and aims it at the mechs head and fires it. He blows a hole so wide, in the mech, that it falls down crumpled and dead, if a mech can truly be dead, on the ground.

"If another one comes – use it. If two comes – I don't – " Tom begins, but stops, as he passes the last silver bullet to Logan.

"If more continue to come, I'll do my best, Tom." Logan replies; he answers quickly, before turning his attention back towards the forest, and whatever may come out of it.

"The ship will be back, Dan. We can't stop that." Tom calls out; as he speaks, his voice is edgy, strained and slightly panicked and he, for a moment, almost does not believe that it belongs to him.

"You need-" Dan begins; he begins to say that Tom needs medical assistance, but he knows Tom Mason, perhaps better than most, and he knows that Tom Mason would not agree to such a thing.

Tom looks around rigidly, quickly and with an expression very similar to that of momentary shock and madness; he sees, now, that Maggie and Dai are gone – they've gone off to the left side of the hospital and there they will join up with the others.

"Stay here, Dan. I'm going to check the right, side." Tom calls out; as he speaks, he begins running towards the right side of the hospital.

He comes to a halt upon reaching the right side of the hospital he finds himself, immediately, attacked by a skitter; and there are several of them; half are heading towards the back of the hospital, where he knows Lee, Lyle, Ronald, Conor, Tector, Dai, Broderick Maggie are; although, he honestly doesn't know how many of them remain alive or uninjured.

The skitter attempts to dig it's pincers into Tom and kill him but Tom manages to fire off a shot before it can do so; the bullet, which hits it's body, only manages to, momentarily stun it.

Several more shots are fired – but these shots do not belong to Tom and he cannot see past the skitter, which he is still fighting off, to see who fired the shots. That is, until, the next shot fired hits the skitter, that was on top of Tom, in the head; this shot kills it instantly and its heavy, bloodied, body collapses on top Tom.

He manages to shove it off of him, to a point, so that he may look up to see several bodies of skitters,also dead with shots to the head, lying around him; and then, he hears the phrase he had heard in his head, not too long ago.

"When life hands you lemons, you blow its friggin' head off!" Pope tells him; he speaks so casually but with such anger towards the skitters as he limps forward towards Tom.

"Anne cleared you, to fight?" Tom asks; he speaks through laboured breathes as he continues to push the skitters body off of him.

Tom casts a quick look over Pope's bloodied body and wonders what would lead Anne to believe that he would be able to fight without causing himself further pain or injury and he wonders why she would have cleared him to do so.

"Sure. Let's say that." Pope mutters, lowly.

He steps, as quickly as he can, towards Tom, and kicks the skitters body off of him with his boot. Then, he extends his right hand, the hand not holding his rifle, to Tom to help him stand. Tom takes his hand but tries to get up on his own so he doesn't cause Pope further weakness.

"Let's get our rods, and go fishing – who knows, maybe we'll catch some fish heads!" Pope announces; his tone is that of a complete madness which causes, to reasons unknown to Tom, a small smile to tug on his lips

Tom can see, now, as he has seen and known for quite some time, that having Pope on _their_ side, as part of the Second Mass, does have its benefits.

As Pope finishes speaking he takes in a long, deep breath of air; the pain is bad but it's something that he can't allow himself to feel and it is certainly not something that he will allow to weaken him. Not now; not when so many lives are on the line and when there are skitters, and possibly fish-heads, whom he could kill. And he sure, as hell, loves to do that.

"They've got their ships, up in the sky…." Tom tells Pope, as the two of them move towards the front of the hospital.

Pope counters, quickly and with a confident tone, "We've got Bazookas."

At the back of the hospital, things are not in a better state than the front; there are more skitters on this side but there were also more fighters who are able to, quickly, control and kill these skitters who had amassed out of the forests – and so far they had yet to encounter a mech.

Maggie stood with Tector to her left and Anthony to her right, firing and shooting down skitters – no one here had any time to think how exactly the skitters learned of their location, why there were so many, and how there had been the ship in the sky.

Ronald and Conor, who had stayed close by their side during the bigger fight against the skitters, had called out announcing that they would be separating and scouting the area outside the hospital and then they would report to Logan, who would decide whether they were to venture into the forest or not.

The first sounds that Isaac had heard, that had given him an indication that something was wrong back with the Second Mass, had been bullets – and there had been lots of them booming and echoing through the air. This sound hadn't panicked him or caused him fear because he did not fear such things.

He had quickly attempted to pull himself together and despite facing significant difficulty in doing so, he listened carefully for the sound of more bullets and followed where the sounds led him.

His leg was still numb and causing him to limp ever so slightly but he couldn't allow it to slow him down, or to stop him, as he needed to return and protect the people of the Second Mass.

He made his way down a rocky, uneven pathway that he vaguely remembered travelling down but as he moved down it he slightly doubted that he had been down it before, but still, he continued on. He wasn't entirely sure why he was so determined to continue moving on this way.

The reason why he had been so subconsciously determined to follow this path dawns on him as he lifts his gaze to find the young man, because he was surely not to be called a boy as he was not one, he recognised as Tom Mason's son, Ben Mason.

Upon catching sight of Ben, Isaac, momentarily, freezes; and then he sees the rope that has bound his body to the tree, the dark purple bruises on his neck and a fresh, bloodied cut on his forehead.

Isaac runs as quickly as he can towards Ben and as he reaches him he kneels down before him and attempts to wake him – first, he checks that he still has a pulse. He feels such relief as he feels Ben's pulse and so he reaches for the knife attached to the belt around his pants and pulls it out.

Just as he does this Ben stirs; for a few seconds his eyes stay closed and then they flutter open – they dart, so very quickly, around the forest until eventually his eyes re-focus and he finds Isaac kneeling before him.

Ben panics at first sight; he attempts to pull away from Isaac, as his first though had been that Isaac was indeed Hal.

"It's OK. Ben, I'm going to help you." Isaac tells him; he, first, begins cutting at the rope that binds Ben to the tree.

He cuts through it at such a fast speed that Ben is free from the binds keeping him tied to the tree within seconds.

When Isaac returns, to kneel before Ben, he finds that he is breathing, heavily, and still has slight panic in his eyes.

"It's OK, Ben. You're alright, now." Isaac says; he speaks with a kind, reassuring tone.

He takes Ben's hands and while holding them with his right hand he cuts the rope away with his left hand. Upon removing the rope from Ben's wrists Isaac finds that they are bruising due to how tightly they were bound.

He quickly slides the knife up, and against Ben's cheek, so that it is underneath the rope – and then, in a very swift movement he cuts it and removes it from where it had been bound so very tightly around his mouth.

Ben coughs, loudly, as the rope is removed. As he finishes coughing Ben looks up with less fear and panic at Isaac.

"You're okay, now, Ben. Don't be worried, or frightened. You're OK. I've got you." Isaac repeats; his tone is, to Ben, an oddly reassuring one.

Isaac moves down towards Ben's legs and with clearly shaking hands he cuts the rope that binds his ankles.

Isaac is quick to stand so that his trembling hands won't be so obvious to Ben and as he stands he is painfully reminded of the numbness in his knee. And then, he remembers, so very quickly, about the shots fired – and it is just as Isaac remembers, that Ben remembers his conversation with Hal. It was a conversation with the Espheni – and he is overcome with such fear as to what has happened to his father and all others in the Second Mass.

He cannot forget the words cruelly spoken by Hal – by the Espheni, about Ben being unable to save his brother, his own blood, and that also frightens him.

Ben doesn't know and he doesn't understand how it is possible for the Espheni to be in Hal's body, but Ben does know that it has happened and he must get back to the Second Mass as soon as possible and inform his father of it because The Espheni in a human's body holds so much power and ability to create chaos and cause death.

"The Espehni – we need to get back." Ben says; he speaks loudly as he stands so very quickly from the ground.

As he stands he is almost overcome entirely with dizziness – however, Isaac manages to prevent him from falling or tripping over.

"Are you sure you're alright to go anywhere?" Isaac asks; he watches Ben with a deep concern about his wellbeing.

"Yes. WE need to go, now." Ben tells him; the fear in Ben's voice, and his determination that they _must_ return now, is clear for Isaac to hear.

Isaac doesn't fight with him on the matter but rather leads the way back towards the hospital where he hopes all isn't as bad as it could be.

The skitters had, for quite some time, continued to come in such vast numbers that Weaver wondered how the fighters of the Second Mass had been able to fight them off, in such strengths for so very long. He was aware, however, that there were fighters who were injured and continued to fight. Weaver had been burnt, by the mech, and he had also been unlucky enough as to be attacked by two skitters, at once –but Logan had managed to shoot the two of them, dead with a single shot each before they could do any real harm.

It is just now, as Weaver truly believes that the worst may be behind them, when the ships return to the sky – and there are three ships this time.

Now, he knows that the worst is not behind them but it is rather above them and he is not sure how they can avoid or survive this.

"You didn't truly believe that you could win, did you, Captain Weaver?" A chilling voice calls out, from behind him.

He turns, so very slowly, to face the speaker; he finds Karen standing before him with a pleased smirk on her features.

"I would advise your fighters against shooting me otherwise you will regret it immensely." Karen announces.

"Don't shoot – don't shoot her." Weaver tells Logan, and all other fighters who have neared the front of the hospital.

Maggie, who had just appeared from around the side of the hospital with Tom and Pope whom she had met up with only moments ago, freezes completely upon the sight of Karen standing before Captain Weaver.

Tom and Pope had shot over several skitters, each, before they'd joined the fighters on the other side of the hospital – half of them had agreed to join Captain Weaver at the front of the hospital. Tom hadn't agreed to join Weaver, though, and neither had Pope; the two of them had agreed to go out, in search of Ben.

However, Pope and Tom's plans to find Ben come to an abrupt stop as they cannot possibly leave at this current moment due to Karen's presence.

Maggie doesn't have to consider her next movements – they come so naturally for her. She moves so very quickly towards Karen with two guns in her hands; her first and only thought is that she is going to kill Karen and that nothing can stand in her way.

But, apparently, it could, and it did.

"If one of you so much as fires a bullet, you should ready yourselves for the storm that will come down on you." Karen says; she speaks with such a cold, chilling tone, and with a cruel smile on her features.

She is, clearly, warning them that if they are to fire a single bullet at her then she will give the order to the ships, hovering in the sky, to release their incredibly powerful bombs which would almost certainly prove to be fatal.

Pope steps forwards, as Maggie does; it's not that he doesn't want to allow Maggie the pleasure to do this because he knows how she longs to and he knows how badly she must need to do this for all that she has lost – but in this situation he cannot allow her to pull the trigger because that would lead to a shower of bombs which would lead to the death of all of them.

Pope places his arms around Maggie and holds her back as gently as he can, so that she will not shoot Karen – despite how badly he himself longs to be the one to kill this monster, and despite the pain he feels throughout his body as he holds onto Maggie, he won't let her go because if he does, then she will be the death of the fighters of the Second Mass.

Maggie struggles, but only for a brief second, under Pope's strong grip before the realisation sets in that Pope is injured. Not wanting to cause him further pain or injury, Maggie stops struggling.

"Ah, there we go, Maggie-May…." Pope whispers, in Maggie's ear; he speaks so quietly because the next words are only for Maggie's ears. "When we get out of this, here, standoff….I'll personally give you the gun, or the knife – whatever your preference, to do what is so rightfully owed to you." he says, slowly, and softly.

Maggie remains so still so that Pope will release her from his grip; he takes only a small step back from he, so that if she does dive forward, towards Karen again, or if she does raise her gun he may prevent her from firing it.

"How are you doing this? How are you controlling them?" Tom questions; he steps forward, past all, until he is the closest one to Karen. "How?" he repeats; he badly wishes to know and to understand how exactly she has done this and how the Espheni has survived.

"I told you it was not the end. I warned you that you could not win." Karen says; she speaks coldly, robotically, as she takes a few steps towards Hal Mason's unconscious and blood stained body.

Throughout the battle, against the skitters, mechs and ships in the sky, not a soul had a moment to tend to Hal Mason and honestly, Lee, Lyle and a few others had not considered Hal to be their top priority now, or even when the battle was finished, as he had so easily turned the gun on his own comrades.

"You – You stay away, from him." Tom warns Karen.

"Is that a threat, Tom Mason?" Karen questions; she tilts her head, ever so slightly, to the side as she speaks.

A smile, almost a humorous one, plays on her lips; as though she finds this situation highly pleasing, which she does.

"You are not in the position to be making such commands, Tom Mason. You are also not in a position to take a step forward." Karen tells him, simply.

Karen kneels down, slowly, on the ground before Hal's body. She stares at him, silently, for a brief second before she pushes the hair off of his forehead, which is covered with beads of sweat. Then, she slowly tilts his head to the side so that his left ear is facing upright.

"Get away from him." Ben calls out; his voice is raw and strained but there is still a confidence to it.

Tom's head snaps around at the sound of his son's voice; and the relief on his features is clear, for all to see. But there is also fear, and worry on Tom Mason's expression as he views the dark purple and blue bruises that run diagonally across his son's neck and the bloody cut on his forehead.

Tom rushes towards Ben and as though he has forgotten entirely about the situation they have found themselves in Tom embraces his son.

"I was so worried, about you." Tom mutters, so lowly, to Ben.

Ben pulls away from the embrace, slowly, and steps past his father; it is not as though he doesn't wish to hear from his father, because he does – he had, when waking with Isaac before him, assumed the worst and believed all to be dead.

But they weren't dead. That is why Ben has to stop Karen and the Espehni – and he doesn't have a moment to explain to anyone else how exactly he will do that.

"Get away from him." Ben repeats; loudly, and still with confidence as though he isn't aware of the ships above them in the sky, which could in a matter of moments lead to their certain deaths.

"And why would I do that, Ben Mason? You cannot possibly win this. There is no way out for you, or for any human here." Karen tells him; her voice is just as chilling and cold as earlier.

Ben continues walking towards Karen and he only stops as he comes a few feet from his brother's body.

"You're all going to leave, now." Ben tells Karen.

Karen tilts her head, on an angle again, before she asks, "Why is that, Ben? Why would we do that when we could have the pleasure of watching your deaths?"

"If you don't leave, then I'll kill him." Ben replies, simply.

"Ben!" Tom calls out; the fear in his voice, as he hears one of his sons speak of killing the other, is painful to hear. "Ben, don't do this. You don't-"

Without acknowledging Tom, Ben repeats, "If you don't leave, if you don't all leave, I will kill him."

"You speak as though the death of Hal Mason would cause me grief or sadness but it would not. It would cause me pleasure to view it. So, please, do so, Ben Mason." Karen answers; her voice is filled with such disgust towards the human race that which she once belonged to.

Everything about Karen; her eyes, her expression, her voice – they're all empty of any signs of humanity and they have been for quite some time. There was never a chance for them to get Karen back.

"I think you misunderstood. I'm not speaking of Hal. I'm talking of him." Ben says; as he speaks, he takes one more step towards Karen. As he looks down upon her he says so softly that only she will hear, "Your master."

Karen stands up; her posture is incredibly straight, and frozen, as she holds Ben Mason's gaze.

"Doing such a thing would result in the death of your brother. You cannot kill one without the other. Would you really take your brother's life, Ben Mason?" Karen says; she is sure to hold his gaze as she continues to speak and she finds that as she does she can see that he isn't bluffing about the knowledge that he holds; that the Espheni, her master, continues to live.

"He'll always be my brother, but he isn't right now…He would want this. He would want me to take the shot, if he were alive." Ben replies, quickly. "But he hasn't been alive since we've gotten him back." he adds.

"What's stopping me from sending the signal to drop the bombs and killing all of the Second Mass?" Karen questions.

"You couldn't carry him. Not while you're injured." Ben tells her; before she responds to his words Ben shoots Karen, two times, with the rifle that had been slung over his shoulder.

"Ben!" Tom calls out; he speaks so loudly, and still with fear, as he prepares for what is to come.

Karen had promised, she'd sworn, that if a single bullet were to be fired – the bombs would fall, and they would all certainly die.

The fighters prepare themselves for the inevitable; there are too many ships, they couldn't possible outrun them far enough to escape the bombs blast. They wait, only a few moments before – nothing. Not a sound; not a single bomb is dropped for the ships.

And as Tom looks back towards where Karen and Ben stood; he finds Karen standing, weakly, and Ben kneeling beside Hal's body, with a grenade in his hands – how he came to be in possession of one is unknown to Tom, as Ben has never previously carried one. What worries Tom, the most – what frightens him, so absolutely, is that Ben is threatening to release the grenade in Hal's mouth.

"Leave." Ben orders Karen; he glances up at her while holding the grenade against Hal's lips.

Karen falters; perhaps, she wonders, that whatever injury had befallen Hal Mason may have, momentarily, stunned her master and perhaps he had been unable to escape beforehand. She cannot risk the possibility of his death; and so, Karen, weakly, takes a step away from Hal Mason.

Karen hesitates, before she asks, "How am I to get him back?"

"If you remain, it will mean his certain death. If you leave, his death is only a possibility." Ben tells her.

"This isn't over." Karen warns him; the absolute and complete hatred she feels towards Ben, and the rest of the humans, echoes through her voice. "You can't win this war." she tells them; she knows that they cannot win this and they will not kill her master because when he awakes he will be free of them and he will find her and they will return and kill all of the Second Mass.

"I think we've got a pretty good chance." Ben replies, quickly.

* * *

**A/N:Hi there, guys! Thank you so much for those lovely reviewers and readers. You're all very awesome and I'm grateful to have such great readers. I've got a few things I want to tell you but I'll leave that to the bottom of the A/N.**

**Dear Guest Agus; chapter 49.  
I'm so happy that you're happy. I do try to upload chapters as quickly as possible :)  
Wow, thank you so much. Your words are too kind. I am also happy to know you're here always - thank you!  
I don't want to spoil what's going on with Isaac but you could be on the right track.  
Yes! I always planned for it to be Ben or Tom to realize that Hal was not Hal but going with Ben finding out first felt right. You are one hundred percent right when you say that Hal is more afraid to lose his family and Maggie. You do have a good theory but as you'll read in this chapter, Hal vs. the Overlord doesn't happen just right now but that doesn't mean that it never will. You are right though, love is more powerful than the Overlords power and I'll be exploring that in the chapters to come. I hope I answered the question well enough for you. No, you didn't write too much it's okay I do love hearing your thoughts.  
Thanks so much for reviewing, it was great to hear from you. Hope you like this one. Xox**

**Okay, so I'll continue with the few things I wanted to say.  
****I've been considering making Ben create a new friendship or a deeper one because while Hal has been controlled by the Overlord he's been distant and with Matt gone Ben's lonely, and then the idea of Isaac and Ben being friends just popped into my head. What do you think about a bromance between the two of them? I think that would be pretty awesome, but that's just me.  
****Also, I had to make Pope have secretly kept some mech bullets because not only was it needed for them to be able to defeat the mechs but it also seems like a Pope-thing-to-do, you know?  
****With the end scene, Karen leaving, I thought it would be something she would do for her master.**

**So, let me know what you think about this chapter or just any thoughts and/or criticisms.**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and sorry if my description of the battle/fight isn't that great, I don't consider myself to be the best at writing action scenes and so I've written the best that I could for you guys.**

**P.s I apologize for any grammatical errors. If you find any let me know but I hope you don't.**

**Enjoy x**


	51. The end is only just beginning

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

_No matter how each of us survive, maybe we owe it to those who didn't to become the best of mankind._

No words had been spoken and no questions had been asked, to Ben Mason, about how exactly he was able to convince Karen, and the ships, to leave because she had been so certain and so determined that they would die.

He had not been confronted as to why he had open fired on Karen, or why he had placed a grenade in his brother's mouth. Karen had left without a fight and without another word, but Ben knew, truly, that she would return for her master and so those who remained of the Second Mass had no other option but to move on.

To where exactly they were going was unsure to Ben, and to all, as he assisted his father in carrying Hal's limp, bloodied and frighteningly light body on to the med bus.

It had been decided in the seconds that had followed Karen and the ships disappearances that Ben, Pope, Anthony and Hal would ride on the med bus as they were all in need of urgent medical attention from Anne and Lourdes.

It was silently agreed that wherever Hal's body was to go, Tom and Maggie would follow. While Tom had been frantically asking Anne about Hal's wellbeing, Maggie had remained quiet as she had not been entirely sure what she could say.

Tector had agreed to drive the bus – not because he particularly wanted to drive it, or because he was good at it, but because after what Hal had done to Anthony and Pope, he believed it to be for the best if he were the driver instead of Lee, Lyle or one of the Marines who may consider turning their guns on Hal.

During the battle, which they had been so helpless in, Anne and Lourdes had tended to Anthony's wounds and they had treated him well and done all that was needed to be done. They had removed the bullet, cleaned and cared for the wound, bandaged the wound and given him medication for the pain.

All they could do for Anthony now was allow him to rest and check on him constantly, which they would continue to do. He was lucky, Anne told him, that the bullet went through and through and did not hit any vital organs or cause any serious damage.

However, Pope's condition was a different story entirely. During the battle, Pope had somehow managed to sneak out without Anne or Lourdes notice. He had snuck out, quietly, when Anne had been tending to Anthony and Lourdes had been gathering supplies to treat Pope's injury.

As they had carried Hal's body onto the bus, and had gotten Anthony and Pope seated, Anne had to quickly determine whose injury was the most severe and therefore would need the immediate attention.

Lourdes had begun treating Pope, as she should have earlier, while Anne had, after failing to convince Tom that he needed to be treated, begun to assess the extent of Hal's injuries.

Pope, who had been lying on his back with his eyes open and his lips pressed together, had been reminded several times by Lourdes to keep his eyes open and so now, he was doing just that. Lourdes had begun tending to his wound quickly and efficiently and she had, soon enough, been able to determine that the shot was through and through; it had, also, luckily avoiding hitting any organs or causing any real damage.

While Lourdes continued to treat Pope, Anne had begun to cut open Hal's shirt so as to view the extent of his wounds so that she could begin to treat them. After setting down Hal's body, Ben had done something that none had expected him to ever do to his brother.

Using the same binds that had once bound Joseph to the same bed, Ben had proceeded to bind both of Hal's legs and arms to the bed so that he was restricted and could not break free and create more chaos or pain.

"Ben, you can't – I need to help him." Anne tells him; she steps forward so that she may attempt to access the binds and remove them from Hal but Ben will not allow her to do such a thing and so he does not move.

"It's the Espheni." Ben states.

Tom speaks first, softly, "The Espheni….How is that – how is that possible, Ben? You're not – You're not making sense."

Tom only ever wants to believe the words that his sons tell him but he finds these words difficult to believe.

"I was out in the forest looking for Hal and the Espheni – He spoke to me." Ben replies; he speaks so quickly and with a frustrated tone.

They have to believe him. Hal isn't capable of doing the things that he has done, these past weeks. It isn't _their _Hal, they all know that and know Ben has proof that it really, truly, is not their Hal but rather an imposter, a monster, capable of wrecking such chaos and causing such pain.

Anne looks briefly between Tom and Ben, before she asks, "Through Hal's body?"

"Yes." Ben answers.

Tom lets out a deep sigh, before he says, "Ben…."

"He spoke of the warehouse, and how we were foolish to believe we could have killed him. And, then-" Ben begins; but he comes to a quick stop before finishing that sentence.

The Espheni spoke of Hal suffering horrible things, things that Ben had truly no knowledge of beforehand and knowing those things now pains Ben because he didn't know and he wasn't able to help Hal as he knows his brother would have helped him.

"Then what, Ben?" Tom questions; he has a small frown on his face, as he speaks.

"It spoke of what happened, to Hal." Ben says; and that's all he chooses to say about that. "And, it knew – it knew all of Hal's worse fears; fears of us dying. It was so evil." Ben adds, with a significantly lower voice.

Anne looks at Ben with a sympathetic, and caring expression on her features, as she says, "Ben, I need to treat your brother. He needs to be treated before he bleeds to death."

Ben doesn't hesitate to reply, "He isn't my brother."

"Don't say that, Ben. You don't mean that. It's Hal, Ben. He's our Hal. We got him back, from the warehouse- and we can help him." Tom says; his voice is filled with the same pain that is painted over his face.

"We never got him back." Maggie says, simply.

Tom turns, briefly, to glance at Maggie as he asks, "What?"

"Hal never made it back from the warehouse." she says, so very sadly. "He never came back to us." she adds; and these words are true because he never truly made it home.

"I don't know – I don't know how the Espheni did it, but he did – a bug, perhaps, but Dad, it was him. Please, believe me. You have to believe me. He tied me up, Dad, to a tree and told me that I would be useful after he killed my brother." Ben says; he's pleading now, with Tom, because they need to believe him.

"And you see these bruises, Dad?" Ben asks; he lifts his right hands to the dark bruises that run across his neck. "Hal didn't do this to me. The Espheni did." he adds.

Just as the last words pass Ben Mason's lips Hal stirs; he shifts slightly but upon finding that he is bound falls still. As his eyes flicker open, slowly, he becomes entirely aware of his surroundings.

"You truly believe these binds will hold me?" Hal asks; a croaky, cruel laugh passes his lips, as he holds Ben Mason's gaze. "You've no idea what you've done, Ben Mason. You're usefulness to _us _has expired."

Hal's eyes dart madly from Ben Mason, to Tom Mason; a vicious smile falls onto his pale face as he catches the horror in Tom Mason's eyes.

"You stare at me with a dumbfounded horror as you cannot truly believe the extent of your stupidity and how you have so deeply failed that you cannot possibly return." Hal says; he speaks slowly and with a lower tone but the cruelness and the viciousness remains in his voice and in his eyes.

"What have you done to my boy?" Tom asks; he cannot contain the anger that he feels surging through his body.

"You humans are weak. I merely took advantage of the weakness as it presented itself. Your hearts are your weakness and it is this weakness that shall ultimately lead to your destruction." Hal tells them; complete and total disdain and hatred drips of each word that passes his pale lips.

"That's where you're wrong. Our hearts are what give us our strength. And so far, we have proven to be stronger than the enemy." Tom replies; he speaks with confidence because he does truly believe that they are stronger than the enemy.

Tom also knows, without doubt, that it is their hearts which provide them with the strength that they need to continue on each and every day.

With a look of madness on his features and a vicious hatred in his eyes Hal begins to struggle; he shakes underneath the binds that tie his arms and legs to the hospital beds. His body shakes, violently, as he tries, in vain, to free himself from the binds and show these humans how truly weak their hearts make them.

"You are feeble minded, weak fools who have never had a chance in winning this war. You will all die the slow painful deaths that you foul creatures deserve to. Heed my words, you will die." Hal says; he speaks slowly, and is careful to enunciate each and every word so that they will stay in their minds for the remainder of their short lives. "You won't win this war. Continue to fight, effortlessly and pathetically, but you will not win it. You cannot." he says.

As those last words pass Hal's lips, his head falls back down onto the pillow where it had previously rested and without a single warning sign his eyes roll back into his head before his eyelids shut completely and he begins madly convulsing.

Anne removes the straps from Hal's body so quickly before she attempts to wake him from the sudden state he has fallen to.

"Anne, what's happening- You've got to help him Anne. Please, help him." Tom pleads; his voice is filled with fear as he stares down helplessly and in horror at Hal who continues to jerk violently.

This sight, the sight of his son's uncontrollable movements, is such a painful sight to Tom and it is only another reminder, just as the bruises on Ben's neck are a reminder, that he has absolutely and completely failed his son.

And then it stops. It simply stops and Hal ceases all movement. Tom cannot help but think that in this moment Hal appears so peaceful as though he may simply be sleeping but it isn't as simple as that.

Pope, who had managed to sit up to view all that Hal had said and all that had occurred in the last minute, moves his gaze away from Hal and towards what he does not believe is real at first. A bug – at first he doesn't find this bug suspicious, but that is until he sees it for what it is.

A bug; like what he had heard they had pulled out of Tom Mason's eye. It's a small bug, tiny, almost unnoticeable to the human eye but Pope has noticed it and he seems to be the only one who has done so.

Anne continues to attempt to wake Hal from the unconscious state that he has fallen into. They are oblivious to the sneaky bug which is managing to crawl, with no notice, towards the nearby bench.

A sharp, shooting pain moves through Pope's body causing him much pain as he jumps down off of the bed and without hesitation he grabs a nearby glass jar and catches bug inside of it.

"Ah, got ya', you damn cootie…." Pope mutters.

All but Anne turn towards Pope, as she continues, with Lourdes by her side, to tend to Hal.

Now, they see the bug which had previously been unnoticed to them. Now, Tom believes Ben as he always should have.

It should be easier, now, for them to accept all that Hal has done and said, but it isn't easier. It doesn't ease their pain, or fears, and it doesn't really truly cause them to forget all that Hal has done. They cannot forget what he has done, despite how badly they wish to.

Tom steps towards Pope, as he does he continues to stare, with horror, at the bug in the jar. Lourdes steps away from Hal because she clearly remembers finding the jar where they had placed the last bug, with a hole in it.

She searches rapidly through nearby cupboards until she finds a thicker, large glass jar and places that over the one in Pope's hands. She takes it and screws the lid on tightly.

"It won't hold the bug for long." she tells them, knowing from past experience, before she steps away and returns to Anne's side.

Tom remains silently as he stares with complete and utter disbelief at the bug in the glass jar. He cannot truly believe what has occurred and cannot put together any words as to speak of what he has just witnessed. It is small, tiny, and black and he cannot remember if it holds any similarities to the bug that was once underneath his skin.

"So, Mason…." Pope begins; he turns slowly, to face Tom before he mutters, "The bug thing is genetic, huh? A hereditary Mason gene? Who knew…" he adds, with a much lower tone.

Pope hesitates, briefly, before he passes the jar to Tom and moves back towards his bed, giving into the overwhelming pain and desire to rest for the moment. As he moves towards the bed he mutters something under his breath about Mason breeding with bugs.

"We'll contain it, for now. Until we're far enough away from the hospital-" Tom begins.

Tom is, however, cut off by Ben who cannot believe his father would consider keeping the Espheni alive a moment longer.

"We should kill it, Dad. Destroy it, before it destroys us." Ben says; as he speaks he glances from Tom to Pope. "I'll jump off the bus….And I'll run down towards the Marines – one of their trucks will be at the end of the line. They'll destroy it, and we can continue on. Who knows what it's capable of doing, Dad? We can't know for sure." Ben adds; he is extremely confident as he speaks because he can see, clearly, that Tom is not in the best state.

Ben will, for now, be the strong one; he will do what needs to be done, what is necessary, and Tom may remain with Hal because Ben can see in his father's eyes that staying at Hal's bedside is truly what he both wants and needs right now.

Tector, who had been listening helplessly to the conversations on the med bus, opens the bus doors and instead of pulling the bus to a complete stop he simply slows the speed down, so that Ben may easily jump off.

With only a brief moment of hesitation, Tom passes the jar Ben and says, "Be careful. When you get back, you need to be looked over."

"I'll bang on the door when I'm back!" Ben calls out, to both Tom and Tector.

Ben rushes towards the open doors of the bus and in seconds he is gone. Tector closes the doors, quickly, and returns the bus to its previous speed.

"Tom, Maggie – I need your help while Lourdes finishes up with Pope." Anne tells them.

Pope cuts in, loudly, "Don't need your help…."

"You're bleeding on your right arm, leg and face from the skitters. I think you do." Lourdes informs him; she steps away from Hal's side and moves back towards where Pope is seated.

Lourdes cannot help but notice Pope's complex expression on his features, as though he is considering something and is unable to make a decision. She also notes how he continues to stare down, with an empty gaze, upon Hal. She prays, silently, that Pope will not try to harm Hal as Tom and Ben have been through so much, as has Hal, and they do deserve to have him back.

Maggie glances up slowly, from where her gaze had rested upon Hal, to meet Anne's gaze. She had been standing still, almost unable to move, looking down upon Hal who was almost entirely unrecognisable.

Anne smiles, softly and sympathetically, at Maggie. Seeing Hal, in this state, is also difficult for Anne as she has come to care for him so very much. It wasn't that, during the fight outside, Anne and Lourdes hadn't wanted to return for Hal and help him because they had but Anthony and Pope had been in such a bad way.

Anne cuts away the fabric of Hal's left pants, from his knee down, and applies direct pressure to the wound on his left knee. After elevating his knee, Anne instructs Tom and Maggie on what was going to happen next so that they could assist her.

She informs Tom how she would be cleaning the wound and then after she had applied a pressure dressing she would cover the wound with a clean bandage.

Tom follows Anne's instructions and begins to remove Hal's jacket and shirt, as quickly and as carefully as he could, from Hal's body as Anne tells him she will need to treat the grazing on his shoulder as soon as she has finished tending to his knee.

As Tom slowly removes Hal's left arm from his shirt, removing the shirt from his body entirely, Maggie moves and quickly places direct pressure on the wound as Anne had instructed her to do so.

"There appears to be no bullet fragments, which is a good sign." Anne informs Tom and Maggie as she finishes wrapping the bandage around Hal's knee which is slightly swollen and there is the possibility that his patella is fractured.

After receiving silence from both Maggie and Tom, which is completely understandable and expected considering the circumstances, Anne glances up to Tom and after finding his expression to be that of an empty one, she follows his gaze to see what has caused him to look so pained.

She lowers her eyes to Hal's chest, just below his right collar bone rests an extremely bloodied bandage which tells them that Hal had not been receiving the proper care for his wound and now there is a possibility it may be infected.

Anne leans over so that she may reach Hal's right shoulder, and as she does she carefully but quickly repeats the same process as what she had done moments earlier to the wound on Hal's left knee; it had been difficult, though, operating on Hal while the bus had been moving but they didn't have any other choice and so Anne would continue on as best and as carefully as she could.

The Second Mass couldn't stop moving because they couldn't be certain of what was behind them or what was following them.

Soon enough, Anne finishes tending to the bullet grazing's on Hal's right shoulder and the open wound underneath his collar bone; she had covered both with tight, clean bandages which would hold the pressure and hopefully keep the wounds free of infection.

"He'll be okay, won't he, Anne?" Tom asks; he glances up, only briefly, from Hal's still lifeless body towards Anne.

She smiles, softly, at him before she replies, "I hope so, Tom. If we continue to watch over him, and take care, his wounds should heal."

Tom lets out a very deep sigh, before he mutters, lowly, "I wasn't talking about his wounds."

Tom is aware of how capable Anne is and how great a doctor she is and when he had asked her if Hal would be okay he wasn't referring to his son's physical condition but rather his mental state..

Anne hesitates, before she takes his right hand, and smiles, sadly. "Only time will tell, Tom." she whispers, gently.

Tom hesitates before he removes his hand from Anne's and raises it to his forehead. He sighs, deeply, before he runs both of his hands over his forehead and onto his head.

A loud banging on the door of the med bus alerts all on it that Ben has returned; a dark silence fills the bus as Tector presses the button to open the doors. He slows the speed of the bus down, ever so slightly, so that Ben may get back on the bus.

With such ease, Ben jumps onto the bus and returns empty handed which is a sign that The Espheni is dead.

"Is it done? Is it dead?" Tom asks; the panic in his voice echoes through the silence in the bus.

Ben glances from Tom to Anne and then to Lourdes, who has only now finished fixing up Pope. Ben returns his gaze to Tom, and nods, simply.

"The Marines – they blew it up, with a lot of explosives. There is absolutely no chance it survived." Ben informs them.

Ben lowers his gaze from his father's worried, drained expression and saddened eyes, to Hal; this sight, the sight of Hal lying bloodied, weak, helpless and limp is something that Ben is not used to seeing and it is something that he will never truly be used to seeing.

"It spoke, of Hal's mind." Ben mutters; he speaks so very slowly, and with a low tone. "It said his mind would be feeble and that he would die and I couldn't help him." Ben adds.

Tom moves closer to Ben, and lifts both of his hands to his son's shoulders where he rests them momentarily before pulling Ben into a tight embrace.

"He's going to be fine." Tom whispers.

Tom badly wants to believe those words, and he only wants for Ben to believe them as well but they are so incredibly hard to believe when gazing upon Hal's weakened state.

"Hal's going to be fine, Ben." Anne says, reassuringly, as she steps towards him. "He's going to be fine." she repeats; although she speaks these words, she isn't entirely sure she believes them and she cannot say them convincingly enough for Ben to believe.

Ben lifts his gaze, from Hal's body to meet Anne's eyes, as he asks, "How's his back?"

"What about his back?" Anne questions, softly.

"The spikes – the holes….?" Ben replies, quickly.

Anne returns so very quickly, to Hal's side; she had thought of checking his back but she had assumed that it had been fine since he had regularly been seeing Doctor Kadar for check-ups.

Anne pauses before she begins to gently turn Hal over onto his side; if Hal was truly controlled by the Overlord then she believes, now, that it is highly unlikely that he would have visited Doctor Kadar.

"Lourdes, can you please look over Ben for any injuries?" Anne calls out.

Lourdes nods but otherwise remains silent as she leads a reluctant Ben towards an empty bed, towards the back of the med-bus.

Anne falls silent before a single word can pass her lips. She cannot find the words to speak as she rolls Hal over onto his side. All of the spikes on his back are in fine condition, with the exception of the two holes at the very bottom – the holes where in the procedure the two spikes had been carefully removed from Hal's body.

The procedure had appeared successful; it should have been successful, so Anne cannot understand, at first, why the holes are covered with a thick, dark crimson layer of blood.

"It shouldn't – he shouldn't look like that." Tom says; he stutters because he cannot truly believe how injured his boy is. "What's – I don't…" Tom begins, but his voice fades out and he cannot finish his sentence.

Tom should have protected Hal as he had always sworn he would do. He had failed so irreversibly and so irreparably and as a result of this extreme failure Hal could die, and if he did not die he would be so damaged.

As Hal's father, Tom should have been his protector. He had promised his wife that he would look over their boys and he had failed to do that. He would never be able to shed this guilt that weighed him down and he could never and would never forgive himself for his failures.

"Lourdes. I need you over here, now." Anne say; she speaks, so very quickly, as she begins piling together all of the items she will need and placing them on a small silver table.

"Tom, Maggie. I need the two of you to sit down, OK? We need room." Anne tells them.

Both Tom and Maggie, who remain silent, hesitate because neither wishes to leave Hal, despite everything that he has done and all that they had believe he had become, they do not wish to leave.

Tom, whose expression is that of a frightened one, continues to hold Anne's gaze, without moving. "I want to stay by his side." Tom insists.

"Please." Anne repeats; her tone is that of a pleading, soft one, that eventually convinces the two of them to move towards the back of the bus.

They agree, somewhat reluctantly, and move towards the back of the bus where they slowly and almost robotically take a seat beside each other.

Tom stares down lifelessly at the seat upon which he sits; he can remember finding Matt here not so long ago. He wonders how his youngest son is and he thinks of how terribly he misses him. His next thoughts are about how much he loves all of his sons and how he only ever wants to protect them and keep them safe.

The darkness of the night is soon upon the Second Mass as they continue on forward – none are sure, except for Captain Weaver, where they are travelling to. They will continue on until the car that the Captain is in stops and then they shall all stop and receive their next orders.

A silence, which had fallen on those in the med bus as Anne had finished cleaning and tending to the wounds on Hal's back, remains now. Ben, who had been checked over and cleared by Lourdes, sits upright, on a stool, next to Hal's beside.

A tension had also filled the air inside the bus as none who were awake knew what words to say and even if they had words they didn't speak them because they could not fathom what they had witnessed.

Ben had refused sleep, several times, from Tom who had at first continuously suggested that Ben sleep but now a silence had come over Tom and instead of speaking, or resting, Tom had allowed Anne to finally tend to his wounds.

She had viewed all of his cuts and wounds, tended to them as was appropriate and bandaged them tightly. He had lost a fair amount of blood and had sustained various wounds through the battle and so it was understandable that after all of it Tom was silent.

He had moved away from Anne, as she had finished tending to his wounds, and had re-taken his seat at the very back of the bus where he very slowly fell into a sleep that would surely hold the memories of his children in the days that he was able to protect them; the days before the invasion.

Maggie, who had been sitting on the very backseat of the bus not so far away from where Tom had been resting upright, had stared out with an empty expression at all that was in view from the back window of the bus.

She hadn't spoken and she had no intention to do so as she was still, desperately, attempting to piece together the events of the day that had passed and all that had occurred in these past weeks.

Hal had never returned from the warehouse, with them. Maggie had always been certain of that but she hadn't thought it was because he was bugged – she couldn't stop replaying, and rethinking, all of their conversations since his return from the warehouse.

To some extent, it made sense that he had been acting so differently; but he hadn't simply been acting differently. He'd acted horribly and cruelly and she had been certain that she had lost him forever.

Even now, she still feared that she had lost him forever because if he were to wake he may never truly be the same. The haunting possibility remained that Hal's mind may be gone, and if it weren't gone it could be feeble and weak and he may never recover from this.

As she continues to stare out of the window, she finds that she is mentally and physically exhausted. She longs to sleep, to rest peacefully and to wake without being surrounded and consumed by darkness and fear – and despite this desire to rest she finds that she cannot allow herself to sleep.

If she were to sleep, she doubts that she would even be able to escape such strong and consuming exhaustion.

This was never how she imagined that things would turn out; this wasn't how things should be and she would never truly forgive herself for allowing things to turn out as they had. If she had stayed away from Hal Mason then Karen wouldn't have attacked her at the warehouse and Hal wouldn't have screamed out – catching Karen's attention.

Maggie believed, strongly, in her heart that she was to blame for this; for Hal's current state. She had only ever wanted to protect Hal Mason and yet she had failed so irreparably, and she would never forgive herself for that for as long as she lived.

Perhaps, Maggie had considered for a brief moment, that there was a possibility that they had gotten Hal back and that he was coming home.

But she couldn't be so foolish as to believe such things this time because the last time that she had believed Hal had come back to them she had been so utterly wrong. If Hal were to come back, if he were to come home to them, it would never truly be the same between them.

How could it possibly be the same between them? They could never go back to how they were. Not after all that they had been through in these past weeks.

It hadn't been Hal, spitting those venomous and cruel words at Maggie; she knew that now but that didn't make the pain that accompanied those words easier; the pain that was still with her over everything he had said and all he had done.

If Hal were to wake, and if he were to return to who he was, Maggie could never go back. She would stay by his side, care for him, and be there for him as she always promised she would do but she could never return to how they were because too much had happened.

She felt such guilt, weighing down on her, at the idea of Hal waking with no memory of these past weeks but finding that Maggie was adamant that they couldn't go back to how they were.

Despite how badly Maggie wanted Hal to wake up, she wanted it with all of her heart and soul; she feared what would happen upon his awakening.

She feared how he would react to what had been done, to him. She also feared how others would treat him – they wouldn't treat him the same after what he had done to Anthony, Pope and Ben. And after learning of the bug inside of his mind, which they would learn of in time, they would look at him in a different, darker light.

She and Hal could never go back, Maggie was certain of that. Things could never return to how they were but the tiniest flicker of light inside of her heart led her to believe that there was the smallest possibility that instead of going back they could go forward.

Perhaps, they could move past this. Perhaps, it was a possibility, that they could heal each other, and grow stronger, and move past all of this and move forward.

Only time would tell if they could heal each other just as only time would be able to tell whether they would move forward together or if they would remain in the shattered state that they were in now.

Maggie looks up, from the window, towards where Ben is seated. She stands so very slowly from the seat she had been resting on for quite some time. She steps forward towards Ben and only stops as she reaches him; she casts a slow look down onto Hal as she takes in each detail of his wounded and broken body.

Each and every wound on his body causes Maggie such severe pain. She should have helped, she should have prevented this, and she should have stayed away.

Maggie knows, with absolutely no doubt in her mind, that whatever their futures may hold and whether they move forward or remain as they are she will always be there for Hal Mason.

"I should have known it wasn't him. He's my brother." Ben admits; his voice is so low, careful so that he won't wake his sleeping father.

"You weren't to know it wasn't your brother." Maggie replies, quickly. "He was acting differently, but we weren't to know that it was – That it wasn't him." she adds.

"Do you think he'll be the same when he wakes up?" Ben asks.

Maggie hesitates, before she answers, softly and honestly, "Nah. I don't – He won't."

Upon noticing the slight change in Ben's expressions, Maggie speaks, "But when he wakes, and he will wake, we'll have the real Hal back."

Ben nods, slightly, before he asks, "You think so?"

"I do, Ben. Hal's strong." she answers.

"Is he, though? I mean, I always thought he was so incredibly strong. Especially when I was younger, I looked up to him – not that I ever told him that. But I did. Until recently I always saw him as a fearless, strong, brave fighter who would never give up, or give in. But….Look at him, Maggie; he doesn't look strong, or fearless – he looks weakened and broken." Ben says; his tone is filled with sadness despite Ben's best attempts to not allow it to sound that way.

"Your job, Ben, as his brother; as his family, is to help him. Help him to get stronger. He can go back. If he has his family, he can go back. You can't give up on him." Maggie says, softly; she speaks from a past experience that she would never share with another.

Ben hesitates, before he tells Maggie. "You are, too."

She frowns, slightly, as she asks, "What?"

"You said that if he has his family, he can go back to who he was. You're his family, too." Ben tells her; he says it so simply, as though it is common knowledge that Maggie is Hal's family, and he hers.

Maggie release a deep sigh, and shifts in her stance. "Ben…." she begins.

Ben looks down at Hal, and then back to Maggie, as he says, "Everything that he's done and everything that he's said these past weeks – it wasn't him."

"I know that, Ben." Maggie replies, quickly.

"You're still his family." Ben answers.

Maggie shifts, in stance, again, before she mutters, "I don't….No. I don't have a family, Ben. Not anymore."

"That's where you're wrong, Maggie. You're Hal's family. You're our family, too – mine, Matt's, and Dad's." Ben says, with a lower tone. "When he wakes up, he's going to need you." he adds.

Maggie shakes her head, ever so slightly, before she answers, "It's not that easy, Ben."

"I know. It won't be easy for you, or for my Dad, or for me and Matt – but it'll be the hardest on him." Ben begins; he stops to release a small, almost shaky sigh, before he continues, "Just consider it, OK? After everything that the two of you have been through together, just think about it."

"No." Maggie replies, quickly. "I don't have to think about it, Ben. I will help Hal, as much as I possibly can. I will be there for him. But not in the way you want me to be – I can't pretend that I'm part of your family, because I'm not. I had a family and I lost them and I won't – I'm not good for him." she adds; she speaks in a significantly lower tone.

"This isn't your fault, Maggie." Ben tells her, simply.

"Mmm…." she mutters, in response.

"Maggie…." Ben sighs. "It really isn't your fault." he insists.

Maggie shakes her head, and after taking a slight step away from Ben, she replies, "Nah. That's where you're wrong, Ben, because it is. If I had stayed away from Hal, then-"

"Then what, Maggie?" Ben asks, he holds Maggie's gaze as he continues in a lower tone, "Karen still would've gone after him, at the warehouse. Do you really believe that Hal would have stayed away from you? Can't you just be there, when he wakes up? OK? Just be here, for him. That's all I'm asking."

"I'm not good for Hal. I'm not good for anyone." she mutters. "Let's just leave it at that, Ben? OK?" she suggests.

"You think you're not good for Hal, or for anyone else?" Tom, who had woken halfway through Maggie and Ben's conversation, asks.

He'd been silently observing their conversation for some time, and while he did feel as though he should intrude he couldn't allow Maggie to believe that she wasn't good for Hal or for anyone else when she clearly was.

Maggie lets out a deep sigh, before she briefly closes her eyes; she turns, very slowly, to face Tom who she finds is now standing as straight as he possibly can.

Maggie begins, "I don't really want to-"

"I don't really care if you want to talk about it, Maggie." Tom says; he speaks over Maggie, not allowing her to finish her sentence.

"Tom…." Anne objects, with a soft tone.

Anne can see that Tom is getting angry, and she doesn't understand why he would be getting angry towards Maggie nor does she believe that Maggie deserves such a thing.

Tom shakes his head, as he takes a small step towards Maggie, "No, Anne – she needs to hear this."

Maggie doesn't hesitate, before she replies, "Nah, I really don't."

"No, you do." Tom answers, quickly. Tom looks down, at Maggie, and with a louder tone that holds no anger whatsoever he continues, "The way that Hal was, with you – I've never seen him like it before. I haven't seen him that happy. And you believe that you're not good for him? You're the best thing that could have happened to him. What I really don't understand is that you say you're not good for Hal, or for the Second Mass, when you are; you just can't see it because you won't let yourself see it. You say you don't have a family and that you lost your only family – you're wrong, again, Maggie because when Hal wakes he won't be letting you go. So you're part of the Mason family whether you like it or not. And The Second Mass, they're your family too. You're not as alone as you think you are, and you are good for people – you're good for us. Just let yourself believe it for once in your life."

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! Firstly, I want to thank all of those who take the time to read my story. I am so incredibly grateful, I truly am. I cannot thank you enough and I do appreciate that you are taking time out of your lives to read my story, so thank you and I will continue trying to thank you as much as I can.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Guest, chapter 50.  
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you thought that it was great. Hope you like this next one.**

**I apologise for any grammatical errors in this story, I do take the time to read over each chapter but it is always likely that I do miss something, so please let me know.**

**I'd like to apologise if this chapter isn't the greatest one, in regards to how it is written or the detail of it, I wanted to add more (it's a little shorter in comparison to my last one) and I wasn't sure if I really like the way I ended it BUT today has just been busy and crazy for me and my family and not a good busy, and I really just wanted to get something up here for you guys so I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.**

**Thanks for reading. x**


	52. Falling into illusions of your sunlight

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The morning sun light which falls softly through the windows of the bus and seeps through the crack underneath the doors of the bus is a light comprised of the lightest shade of orange mixed with a soft, almost golden, yellow.

Despite all the previous night's events, and all that had occurred in these past weeks, it was almost peaceful on the bus. But it was only _almost_ peaceful and it was only this way because the silence had fallen on the bus again as most on it had been at a complete and total loss for any words as no words could truly be used to speak of what had occurred and what they were to do next.

Hal had remained as he was the previous night; pale and still as though he was sleeping. But he wasn't simply sleeping; Maggie had to remind herself of that constantly as did Tom and Ben. He certainly wasn't simply sleeping but they weren't entirely sure what was truly going on in his mind.

Ben had believed, silently, that perhaps Hal's mind had become feeble and weak as the Espheni had claimed it would become in time. Ben had not been able to sleep at all, nor had Tom, Maggie, Anne or Lourdes – and despite that Pope had appeared as though he had been sleeping, he hadn't been sleeping because he hadn't been able to.

Ben had not shared these silent fears with his father, or with anyone else, because he did not feel that he should burden them with the possibility that Hal may never wake and if he were to wake he may not be who he once was.

As Ben sat, silent and unmoving in the same chair he had spent all of the night in, he gazed down upon his brother, watching him for any signs if anything went wrong but also watching him for any signs of life. He still continued to breathe, but that failed to ease Ben's fears.

Anne had ensured that all on the bus ate something, small, and she had tempted Ben to sleep just as she had tempted Maggie to sleep but they had both adamantly refused her offer despite her hardest attempts to convince them otherwise.

As Ben watches Hal's chest rise and fall, softly, he lifts his eyes to his brother's eyes – he could have sworn that they had attempted to open; they hadn't moved significantly but rather ever so slightly that it was almost an unnoticeable movement.

Ben freezes as he stares desperately at his brother, waiting for another movement. After a hopeful moment that Hal may wake passes, and Ben begins falling deeper into his fears, Ben convinces himself that he was imagining the movement and that it was a result of his lack of sleep. Although, Ben wasn't entirely sure he believed himself; he'd gone without sleep for days, in the past, and on those days he had never imagined anything.

Ben lifts his hands to his face and runs them up over his eyes and then to his forehead. After releasing a deep sigh Ben drops his hands back to where they had previously rested. He looks back down upon his brother with almost no hope until he sees the movement again.

It's the smallest movement and if he hadn't been paying close enough attention he would have surely missed it. Ben does not inform Anne or anyone else of this movement as he does not wish to give them a sense of false hope because it could be nothing.

And then, Hal stirs; the movement isn't his eyelashes flickering slightly– his index finger, on his left hand, twitches ever so slightly and then his thumb follows the same movement and twitches.

Still, Ben does not alert anyone of these movements because he still doubts whether his brother will wake.

Then, Hal moves his head; slowly, his head shifts from where it had rested on the pillow so that he is lying on the left side of his face.

"Anne…." Ben calls out; loudly.

Ben can't be sure whether this means anything but he's almost certain that it does. From his observation of Hal's slight movements and twitches, he believes that Hal is waking or in the very least he is trying to wake.

"Doctor Glass." Ben calls out, a little louder; he stands up from the chair as he speaks and looks down in the direction of Anne, Maggie and Tom.

Pope, who had been lying on the bed across from Ben, makes a low grunting noise before sitting up in his bed; he watches Hal with a suspiciousness but also a wariness because they cannot be certain if all of the bugs are gone, and they will never be certain.

"I think – He moved. His fingers…And then his head." Ben tells them; he speaks so very quickly and stutters as he glances from Anne back down to Hal.

Maggie follows Tom down towards Hal's bed but she stops before reaching it and instead decides she will stand beside Pope's bed; she wants to be there when Hal wakes but if he doesn't wake – she can't let herself see such a thing and so she is, momentarily, distancing herself.

"Hal?" Tom calls out, as he stops at Hal's bedside. "Hal, can you hear me?" he asks; the desperation and the fear in Tom's voice is painfully clear.

Lourdes has joined Anne's side but before either can do a thing Hal's eyes flicker again; they aren't quite open but they aren't entirely closed.

His eyelids flutter open so incredibly slowly and they do not focus on anything or anyone on the med bus for a moment – for a moment everything is a blur to Hal, a hazy blur which he cannot escape. He closes his eyes, briefly, as he tries to find the strength and the will to re-open his eyes.

Anne, who cares so greatly for Hal and his family, cannot risk the lives of those on the bus, and so, until they are certain that it is Hal and that there aren't any other bugs in his brain, she binds his uninjured arm and uninjured leg to the binds.

"Anne, what are you doing?" Tom asks; his tone rises, slightly, in anger, as he wonders why she would consider doing this to Hal when what he really needs it their help and medical attention.

"I just need to be sure it's really Hal, Tom." Anne answers, softly.

"What he needs is our help. Your help…" Tom answers, quickly.

Anne releases a small sigh, before she replies, "I'll help him, Tom. I will. It's just a precaution."

As Hal's eyes open again, ever so slowly, everything remains to be a thick blur to him. At first, he isn't sure of his surroundings and he isn't aware of who is around him. Slowly, his eyes fall into focus and the first thing that he sees is light; a beautiful orange and yellow light that reminds him of a place he can't quite remember and a name he can't quite find.

His eyes close, yet again, as the pain he had woken to becomes much more overwhelming; his entire body aches, throbbing with a pain that he isn't sure he has felt, to this extent, before.

The sharp, strong pain he feels in his back distracts him, but only momentarily, from the pain that he feels surging through his chest, and right shoulder. His legs feel weakened and consumed with pain, and he cannot remember having felt such pain in his entire existence.

Quickly, he falls into a confused daze as his eyes open – he sees a face that he knows is familiar but it takes him a moment to find the name; his father. Tom Mason.

Hal attempts to allow his eyes to move over the room but he finds himself restricted and unable to do so. He is quite unsure of what is restricting him – and then a fragment returns.

It's a tiny, shredded, stained and damaged fragment of his memory; he hears her voice echoing through his mind, he sees her hanging tied up by some sort of binds – and then, some sort of staff is jabbed at her, causing her to cry out in the pain. Her cries, and her pain, are so fresh in Hal's raw mind.

He tries to speak, to call out to her but his words get stuck in his dry throat. He clears his throat, quickly, before he calls out to her, "Maggie."

Her name is incredibly quiet as it passes his dry lips that it's almost entirely inaudible for the ears of those standing by Hal's beside.

"Hal, can you hear me?" Anne, who leans over Hal, asks as she flashes a small light before his eyes.

This light is painful to him and he recoils away from it immediately and closes his eyes – the light causes him such incredible pain, in his mind, but he cannot remember as to why he is so afraid of it and hates it so.

"Hal, can you see me clearly? Can you hear me? I need you to open your eyes." Anne says, so very softly.

"Maggie." Hal whispers, again.

His eyes open as he wishes to find her, and again, he attempts to search his surroundings for her but finds himself restricted in moving.

"Hal, I need you to answer me." Anne tells him.

Anne's brow is creased, deeply, as she watches him with a deep concern as he appears to be in some sort of shocked state. It's understandable, though, that he has fallen into this shock as he has been through such trauma.

Hal's breathing begins to deepen significantly, almost frighteningly, and soon he is breathing so heavily that Anne has becomes deeply worried and attempts to plead with him to calm down.

"Hal, I need you to calm down, OK? You need to calm yourself down." she pleads, softly, with him,.

Finally, Hal meets Anne's gaze, as he asks, "Maggie – where's Maggie? Maggie?"

Maggie, who had been standing frozen beside Pope, does not move yet because despite that she wants to be by Hal's side she's frozen with a fear that he won't be the same and that he is simply repeating her name as he remembers it from a very vague memory.

Due to the restraints that bind Hal to his bed, his movements are restricted and so he can only see so far - and he cannot see Maggie.

"Maggie's fine, Hal." Anne tells him, reassuringly." She's here with me. I'm worried about you." she adds.

Hal shakes his head, repeatedly, as his breathing only deepens. "I need to see her." he mutters, lowly.

"Hal, you need to take care of yourself." Tom says; he speaks softly and with a gentle, caring tone.

"I don't….." Hal begins but stops, as his eyes fall down, slowly, onto the restraints which he realises now are why he cannot move freely.

It pains Tom greatly to see his son in the state he is in; frightened, dazed, weakened and panicked.

"I don't – why…Why am – what are these – what's happening? Maggie? Dad? Dad?!" Hal stutters, frequently, as he speaks as he becomes more panicked as to why he is bound to the bed.

Such fear and desperation echo of the words 'Maggie' and 'Dad', as they pass Hal's dry and pale lip. It's as though he is desperately calling out to them for some or any form of reassurance as to what has happened and why he is chained up.

Hal's mind is incredibly weak, and he finds it so very difficult to remember anything at all and when he is able to remember something it isn't clear – but he does see fragments, in his mind, of the….of Maggie, in pain. She was screaming out, in pain, as the volts of light were forced on her.

Hal closes his eyes, briefly, as he calls out, softly, "Maggie?"

Anne lets out a very small, slightly shaky, sigh, before she says, "Hal, I need you to stay still, while I-"

"No, no." Hal cuts her off, quickly. "I need to – what – what are you doing….Why am…Dad? Dad, why…." he stops, before he finishes speaking.

Without asking Anne's permission to do so, Tom removes the restraint from Hal's right wrist and then he lowers the rail so that it is not in Tom's way to reach his son. Tom takes Hal's hand in his and holds it so gently as he lowers himself down, so that he is kneeling beside Hal.

"You're OK, Hal. It's ok." Tom whispers, soothingly, as he stares down lovingly at his son.

"Am I – what….Dad….I don't….." Hal stutters; he continues to breathe heavily, as he speaks.

He stutters so frequently because he is so confused and dazed, and he worries why they would have chained him up to the bed.

"It's OK." Tom reassures him, softly, as he continues to hold his son's hand. "You don't have to think about it right now." he adds; his voice is soft and loving and it should reassure Hal but it doesn't.

"It hurts, Dad…." Hal admits, as his grip on his father's hand tightens. "My head- why…..Why am…..? What – I don't….You're hurt Dad. You're hurt. What happened….Why…..?"

"You're OK, Hal. I'm OK too. I'm not hurt badly. You just need to rest, Hal." Tom tells him, as he smiles sadly at his son. "All you have to do, right now, is rest. That's all. We can talk about everything later." he says, softly.

Hal shakes his head, as he attempts to free his left leg from the binds. "No, Dad. No. NO. Don't go, Dad. Don't leave me. Don't go again."

"I'm not going, Hal. I'm not leaving you." Tom whispers, softly, as he manages a small smile that it supposed to reassure Hal that he won't be leaving him.

These words, and Tom's smile, do not reassure Hal and he continues to attempt to free his left leg from the bind. He does so in vain and does not make any progress in removing his leg, instead he wastes what little strength his body somehow holds and only brings further weakness and pain upon himself.

"No, Hal, you don't have to do that." Anne tells him, gently. "You're going to tire yourself out."

"No, I don't – I don't know what's…happened. I don't – can't, Dad. You're hurt. Ben? Where's Ben? Did he get out okay?" Hal asks; he turns, looking directly into his father's eyes.

Tom fights a frown from falling onto his features, as he asks, "Did Ben get out from where, Hal?"

Hal cannot stop the deeply confused and puzzled frown from forming on his own face, as he mutters, "The….mission…."

"The warehouse….?" Tom asks, slowly.

Hal nods, very quickly, and his breathing becomes heavier yet again as he asks, "Did he get out – no….Ben? Ben, where- Ben?! Where's Ben? BEN?!"

Tom with a caring, loud tone, over Hal as he says, "He's here, Hal. Ben's right here."

Just as Tom speaks those last words, Ben steps forward from where he had previously stood from beside Lourdes and moves towards where Tom is kneeling.

Ben does not kneel as Tom does; instead he stands straight, still and almost cautiously at his father's side.

"Ben, you're here. Come here. You – You're….Here. You're okay, Ben…." Hal mutters; he stops speaking, however, as he comes to view the dark bruises on Ben's neck.

Hal tenses up, visibly, at the sight of these bruises and he begins to, almost subconsciously, attempt to free himself of the binds so that he may ensure that his brother is okay.

"Hal, it's OK." Anne says; she reappears, and stands by Ben's side. "He's OK, Hal."

"You're neck…." Hal mutters; he sounds so terribly sad, as he speaks, like he did moments earlier when he'd noticed that his father was wounded.

"I'm OK, Hal." Ben replies, quickly; those are the only words that he speaks because for now, those are the only words he can find to speak to his brother.

His brother who had strangled him and had spoken of taking pleasure in killing humans – his brother who hadn't really been his brother, his brother who had never returned from the warehouse.

The expression on Hal's features shifts so suddenly; it changes from fear and panic to almost a physical sickness as though he is about to be physical ill.

"Did I-" Hal begins, but he finds that he cannot finish those words and so, he allows his head to fall back onto the pillow and he removes his hand from his fathers. "Matt - Where is he? Where's Matt?" Hal asks.

The frown on Tom's features deepens greatly, as he remembers clearly that Hal was there - but then he remembers that it wasn't truly Hal who said goodbye to Matt. Tom still cannot truly believe that in these past weeks it was not his Hal, and he wasn't aware of it.

"He's sleeping." Tom answers, quickly.

Tom lies to Hal only because he is in such an incredibly fragile state and what he needs is to rest, recover and heal and when he has healed and grown stronger then they can speak of these things.

"Hal needs to rest – but first, I need to make sure he's okay." Anne tells them; with those words spoken, she draws the curtain around so that it is covering the bed that Hal is lying in and the area around that bed.

Tom takes a seat down, onto the edge of Pope's bed – which is the bed nearest to where Hal lies. Pope lets out a low, deep cough before he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a silver flask. After taking a very long sip from the flask, Pope wipes it with the corner of his jacket and extends it to Tom.

With only a slight second of hesitation Tom takes it and drinks from it; when he has finished, he quickly mutters 'thanks' to Pope before he hands it back. Pope takes another, much longer, sip before he passes the flask to Maggie. She takes it and swallows a mouthful before handing it back to Pope.

She doesn't thank him but she doesn't need to, Pope doesn't need to hear her thanks.

As she finishes with the flask, Maggie moves down towards the bench and picks up the small coin which she'd given Hal on his birthday. Beside that coin rests a watch, which she knows is Tom's present to Hal. Anne must have removed them, as she'd tended to his wounds.

"Mason Junior….." Pope calls out, to Ben.

Ben looks up and lowers his eyes to the flask that Pope is extending to him. He's offering it to Ben whom he believes might be in need of a drink.

"Pope….." Tom sighs, in objection.

"Worth a shot…." Pope mutters, and then he says something about the 'more for him the better'.

* * *

After almost fifteen moments behind the curtain, Anne and Lourdes eventually exit – as they step out they wear identical grim expressions on their features. Anne speaks to Tom, Ben and Maggie separately from Pope as Lourdes insists on checking his bandages and the wounds he sustained in the battle.

"How is he?" Tom asks; his expression is a mixture of fear, pain and panic.

Tom knows that he has failed so badly in protecting Hal, as he so desperately longed to do and he can only hope and pray that Hal will be okay and that they may finally get him back.

"Not good." Anne answers, honestly. She continues with a softer tone, "He's weak, both mentally and physically. The bullet grazing's weakened him significantly, but there's also the laceration on his chest from the skitter – and then, there's the holes on his back….There are signs of infection, Tom. I'm not saying that there's no hope, because there is – there is always hope. I'm just telling you all, honestly, that it's going to be a very long and difficult road for Hal, back to recovery. I've put him on the appropriate medication and antibiotics, and with constant supervision and treatment of his wounds….He'll recover, physically."

"Mentally?" Tom asks.

Anne releases a small breath of air before she answers, "Mentally…I'm not sure, Tom. I wish I could be. He's in shock and he doesn't remember much….His mind is…"

"Feeble?" Ben suggests; his expression is completely unreadable as he speaks.

Anne shakes her head, as she begins, "Ben, I wouldn't-"

"How are we to be sure that there aren't more bugs, in his mind?" Ben asks; he asks the question that was on the mind of all on the bus.

They cannot know with complete certainty that Hal has returned, that he has come home to them. They'll never know that for sure, not after what they have witnessed.

Anne continues, with a caring smile, "We can't be sure. We can only hope, and trust."

"Can we see him, now?" Tom asks; his eyes are filled with such small optimism and hope, despite all that has occurred.

Anne steps towards Tom and upon moving closer to him she raises her hand and gently places it to his shoulder.

"Hal believes that he is restrained because he hurt Ben, and he hurt you – he doesn't want to see you and he doesn't want the restraints removed. He was muttering things – saying that he hurt Ben like he did Matt." Anne says.

"Anne…." Tom begins, quietly. "I have to see him." he adds.

"I'm sorry, Tom. You can't…Not right now, anyway. He might feel different in the morning. I'm sorry, Tom. I don't want to cause him further stress." Anne begins; she shakes her head slightly as she speaks. "He won't see you, or Ben – only Maggie." she says, in softer tone.

Maggie hesitantly meets Anne's gaze; she remains silent for a moment as she holds her gaze. She is silently considering whether she can physically move so that she may see Hal. It's not that Maggie doesn't want to go because she does. She wants to see Hal, so badly. After everything, she finds herself hesitant to visit him because she may not have him back and seeing him now, in this state, would only make it so much harder.

"Maggie…Maggie?" Hal calls out; his voice echoes through the curtains which keep him separated from the others on the med bus.

Hearing Hal's voice filled with _such_ desperation, sadness and longing leads Maggie to come to a definitive answer much quicker than she believed that she was capable of doing.

Maggie nods at Anne; indicating that she will go in and see Hal and that she will try to convince him that he did not cause his brother's and father, or anyone else, pain.

* * *

With the exception of the soft yellow morning light, which has snuck through the one window near the roof of the bus, Hal is almost entirely submerged in darkness when Maggie steps through the crack in the curtain, and finds herself at the end of his bed.

Despite the darkness that she finds him in, the yellow light provides enough light for her to see him and each and every detail that accompanies him, clearly. She finds Hal resting, as he was earlier; on his back with both legs and his left arm bound to the bed. His eyes are closed shut, tightly, and if it wasn't for heavy rise and fall of his chest Maggie may actually believe that he was sleeping, peacefully, as he once did some time ago.

"Maggie? Maggie, where's….Where's Maggie?" Hal mutters; his eyes remain closed as he speaks, and his voice is much softer than before.

Maggie clears her throat and hesitates, before she answers, softly, "I'm here."

Hal's eyes open instantly at the sound of Maggie's voice near him. He isn't entirely sure why it feels as though it has been quite some time since he has heard her speak to him.

"Maggie?" Hal calls out; he sounds disbelieving, as though he cannot or does not believe that it is Maggie speaking to him.

She takes one small and cautious step before stopping herself – she is still so very far away from him because she finds that she needs a moment to compose herself and calm herself and remind herself that this is Hal and that he is back.

"Maggie, Maggie you're here. You're here." he whispers; as he speaks he makes another attempt to free himself from the binds so that he may be closer to her.

After watching Hal, sadly, fail several times to free both of his arms and both of his legs from the restraints Maggie moves so that she is standing by his side – she stands so that she may view his face, and his eyes, and the pained expression on his features.

"Maggie…." he whispers, softly.

"I'm here, Hal." she answers, after a brief moment of an almost dark silence.

Hal's breathing deepens significantly as he mutters through deep breaths, "I'm sorry, Maggie. I'm sorry."

Maggie pulls the chair up, from Hal's beside, and takes a seat on it – she sits at the same eye level, as Hal, and so the pained expression that has spread into his eyes is still painfully clear for her to see.

"You didn't…." Maggie begins; she stops, however, as she is not entirely sure what Hal is apologizing for.

"I'm glad…." he whispers, through heaved breathes. "I'm just glad you're OK." he continues; as he speaks, his eyes close almost against his will.

"You're tired, Hal. You need to rest." Maggie says, simply.

Hal opens his eyes as those words ring through his ears; he doesn't want or need to rest. Despite how incredibly tired he feels he needs to be with Maggie. He needs to make sure that she is okay and he just needs to be with her.

"No, I'm not- I can't, Maggie. I don't want…." Hal trails off, as he begins to struggle again, under the binds.

"It's just me, Hal. Let me remove them…." Maggie whispers; she stands from her chair, and quickly removes the binds from both of Hal's ankles and then from his wrists.

As Maggie retakes her seat, on the chair by Hal's bedside, she lifts her gaze to find that Hal is attempting to roll over so that he is lying on his side, facing her.

"Don't try to move. You're hurt." Maggie whispers.

Hal stops moving, instantly, and instead of rolling on to his side he simply turns his head so that he is directly looking at Maggie, into her beautiful eyes which he feels as though it has been years since he has seen.

"How did I….Get hurt…." Hal asks; he hesitates, briefly, before he questions, "The warehouse? She…."

The memory of the warehouse becomes a little clearer, to Hal, and he is able to focus on it in his attempt to remember what occurred – he is only able to focus on it for a moment before his thoughts become a blurry, unreadable mess that he cannot remember clearly. He is, however, able to remember a few flashes from the warehouse; he remembers Maggie's voice, he remembers his father's – and he remembers Maggie's pained, muffled cry.

Hal rolls over on to his side without a thought of the pain that would accompany such a movement; he doesn't care in the slightest for his own pain. He cares for Maggie and her pain, far more, and as he is painfully reminded of the pain that she must have felt at the warehouse he cannot stand to be this far apart from her.

"Hal…." Maggie begins to object. "You need to rest." she tells him.

"No. I don't – don't….I don't know why I'm here, Maggie. Why are we here?" he asks her.

"You need to rest, Hal. When you wake, we'll talk about it." Maggie tells him; she speaks softly and with a low voice but as the words pass her lips she isn't entirely sure that they are truthful as she cannot be sure that she can bring herself to speak of such things with Hal.

For a moment Hal appears as though he may truly listen to Maggie's words and rest and he does, for a moment, consider the words and consider resting. He changes his mind; as his eyes close and the memory of a face he cannot remember pressing some sort of staff to Maggie's stomach.

Without a thought or moment of consideration to how painful moving so quickly, and into such a position may be, Hal sits up in bed.

Maggie stands as Hal sits up; she wonders and worries why he would sit up so suddenly and without a word. He shouldn't be making such movements in the physical, and mental, state that he is currently in.

Hal needs, so badly, to fall into a soft sleep where his mind and his body may rest and recover from all that he has endured.

"What did – I….." he begins but stops as his eyes move, quickly, over Maggie.

He stares at her with hazel eyes filled with such strong confusion and pain; his eyes are also empty as though there is absolutely no light left inside of them because all the light has been drained from his body, mind and heart.

He only wants to be close to Maggie because he feels as though there is such distant between them and he hates this distance because he doesn't understand it at all.

He attempts to stand from the bed; without a word or warning of what he is planning of doing, Hal painful attempts to firmly place both of his feet on the ground so that he is standing before Maggie. In his weakened, pain consumed state, Hal is unable to stand and so slips – and if it weren't for Maggie, stopping him from falling and hitting the ground, he would have fallen.

She holds him up easily and is frightened by how truly light his body has become. With her hands holding him tightly, on areas which she were certain were not injured, she eases him back towards the bed so that he may be sitting on the very edge of it.

He groans so loudly in pain, as he is reminded of the weak state that he has woken to find himself in and finds that he has no recollection of how he came to be in it.

"You need to lie down, Hal." she tells him, softly.

Hal shakes his head slowly, before he whispers, "I need…"

He does not finish his words, however, and instead he lifts his left arm, as he feels such strong pain in his right, and reaches out with his left hand for Maggie's right hand.

Hal doing such a simple thing as trying to hold her hand almost shocks Maggie, as he has not tried for weeks to do something as simple as that. She hesitates and does not pull away as he slowly tugs on her fingertips; soon enough, his hand is holding hers and his eyes are closed as he allows a shaky breath of air to pass his dry lips.

"You." he says, softly.

Maggie doesn't ask Hal to repeat himself because she is aware of what he is saying, what he means; He's telling her, "I need you."

Hal eyes slowly flutter open and as they do they meet Maggie's his expression has fallen into that of a sadder one as he releases a deep, choked breath of air. "You're here. I'm just….Glad that you're….With me."

His eyes drop to her stomach, quickly, before they lift to meet her gaze again. He watches as Maggie shifts, somewhat awkwardly, before she removes her hand from his and uses it to push her hair behind her ears.

"You need to rest, Hal. You need to get better." she tells him, softly.

Hal shakes his head, sadly, as the saddened expression still remains on his features. He can see the memory replaying in his mind just as he can hear her muffled sobs; the same sobs that had filled his mind when he'd first woken. He understands, he remembers the tiniest flicker.

But seeing the tiniest flickers don't allow him to remember much, and his inability to remember these past memories and his inability to understand why he cannot remember such things is both frustrating and saddening.

The flicker, that he can remember, plays before his eyes like a film that he has seen before but has become forgotten, worn and blurry with time as most things do. He remembers fighting with restraints, binds, which had held him and restricted him just as they had earlier.

Hal lowers his right hand so slowly and carefully to Maggie's stomach, as he does this his head falls, slowly, until it is almost touching Maggie's head – he's only almost reaching her, resting against her, but there is still distance between them.

"I-I-…." Hal begins, he trails off softly.

His hand reaches Maggie's stomach and as he does he rests it there, gently, and closes his eyes as he attempts to hold in a choking sob but he cannot. It passes his lips despite his best attempts to not allow it to do so. He finds that he does not have the strength to stop or control himself from such things.

He notes, now, that Maggie's eyes are closed and her lips firmly stay pressed together. Hal takes Maggie's hand with his left and pulls her slowly in so that she is closer to him than before. Now, they are resting their heads against each other. Now, they aren't almost close; they are close.

"Hal….." Maggie begins; his name sounds so weak, so pained, as it passes her lips.

He takes his left hand away from Maggie's and also places it on her stomach; she drops her head, now, so that it is resting against his and she very slowly, and almost cautiously, lifts her hands towards Hal's cheeks. She hesitates, not allowing her hands to rest on his cheeks; instead she lowers them down so that they are resting against his neck.

"You….You're…." Hal begins but stops as words fail him yet again.

"No." Maggie replies, with her eyes still closed.

She's answering the question that Hal was yet to speak but in time she knew that he would. He knows, now, what she means as she says no.

She's telling him that she isn't pregnant, any longer. And that's all that she finds that she can tell him, the simple word 'no' because if she were to speak she's afraid that she may break and she cannot allow herself to do such a thing with Hal in the state that he is in.

She opens her eyes slowly to meet his gaze, and finds that his eyes are still filled with the same emptiness – but his expression, it's painful to see.

Another choking sob escapes Hal's lips and this time he doesn't try to fight it. He can't truly fight it in his weakened state. His face contorts into that of an expression of insufferable sadness, pain and loss.

"I'm sorry…." he whispers, with his hands still resting protectively and softly against her stomach. "I'm- I'm so sorry, Maggie…." he tells her through deep sobs.

"No." Maggie shakes her head, as she lifts it ever so slightly away from Hal's. "You-….You didn't…."

Hal tries to pull Maggie closer, towards him, with his hands still resting on her stomach he tries to bring her towards him and she does move but she does so slowly and almost rigidly.

"I-I….You….." Hal begins but stops; his stutter has increased, greatly, and now it is as though he cannot complete a full sentence without stuttering.

He stutters because of his confusion over all that has happened – time has passed since the warehouse but he cannot understand how or why he does not remember it passing. He stutters, also, because of the sadness and grief he feels over the loss of what could have been.

For a brief moment, before Maggie had spoken the word, 'No', Hal had believed that there was still a possibility that she may have been carrying his child. That thought didn't terrify him, or scare him – no, it made him feel a brief flicker of happiness. He believed because it was Maggie, who would have carried his child, he felt this happiness because he could almost see the life that they could have had and what could have been.

"Oh….Maggie….." he mutters, lowly, as he lifts one hand from her stomach and lets the other remain where it rests.

His right hand moves slowly towards her face and he gently runs his hands, which he hadn't been aware were trembling greatly, down the side of her face. Maggie closes her eyes at his touch and remains silent.

"She…..I'm sorry….She hurt…..You." he whispers, softly, as he continues to hold her as close to him as she will allow him.

Maggie breaks away from Hal, now. It's not that she hasn't longed for the closeness that is now between them, because she had. She doesn't pull away because she doesn't want to be with him, because she does. She breaks away from his soft touch because he needs to rest.

She knows that he does not wish to rest, and she only wishes that he didn't need it so badly but he does. He is so weak, he cannot stand by himself – he needs to rest and to recover so that he can heal.

"You….Uh….You need to rest." Maggie whispers, softly, as she meets his deeply confused and hurt gaze.

"I don't….." Hal begins; he was going to confess to her that he doesn't understand why she is pulling away from him. "Why….." he begins but again the words fail to come to his mind and he allows himself to fall into a silence.

"Please, sleep, Hal." Maggie says, almost pleading with him. "We'll talk after you rest." she adds.

Hal shakes his head, quickly, as he attempts to stand again; Maggie just reaches his side as he begins to fall and she stops him, from falling, and lowers him back down so that he is resting on the edge of the bed.

"NO. No. I'm not- Don't, Maggie. Don't leave." he tells her.

It's not as though he is asking her not to leave but rather pleading, begging, that she does not leave his side as it feels like it has been years since he has been near her and he longs to find himself in the closeness that they once shared. He is pleading with her not to leave him alone again because he fears he won't wake or that he will wake without her.

Maggie replies, gently. "I'm not leaving, Hal-"

"No, Maggie. Please, tell me." he whispers, softly as he reaches out for her hand. "What have I done….Did I- What….." he mutters. "I hurt you?" he asks.

As he speaks he sounds as though he is frightened and he is; he is frightened by the possibility that he hurt Maggie, or his father or his brothers.

"Did I hurt…Anyone – Why can't I…..I don't see anything, clearly, at all….." he admits; he sounds so terribly sad and confused. "And I just-" he begins, stopping only to take in a deep breath of air. "I don't…..It hurts…." he admits.

Maggie nods, slowly, before she answers, "I know it does, Hal. I know. That's why you have to rest."

Hal shakes; he looks panicked at the thought of rest, and says, "I can't….Did I – Who-"

"You haven't – You didn't do anything wrong, Hal." Maggie answers, softly. "Nothing at all….." she adds.

"My Dad?" he asks, quietly.

"You didn't hurt him." Maggie tells him.

Hal takes in a deeper, sharper breath of air as he continues, "What….Ben….Matt? You?"

"You didn't hurt anyone, Hal." she says; as she speaks the words she cannot help but feel the guilt that accompanies the lie that she just told Hal.

Ben had told them of how Hal had strangled him to the point of suffocation and had tied him up and left him for dead in the forest; Hal had caused Ben pain, even if he had never intended to do so. He'd caused his father great pain, and suffering, even if it was not a physical pain or visible to the eye it was still pain.

Maggie could try, for Hal, to forget the great pain that he had caused her. She would try to do it for him, and so she would not tell him of all that he had said and done because he hadn't really said those things or done them.

Maggie takes a step towards Hal and without hesitation she presses such a soft, gentle kiss to his forehead. He smiles, so sadly, at this; and it is not the same smile that Maggie can remember seeing countless times before all of this. It is a small, weakened attempt at a smile and it does not hold the same life, light or happiness as it once held.

"Try to rest, Hal….Please." Maggie whispers, softly.

"OK." he mutters, weakly, in response. "Don't- Don't go, though, Maggie. Please, don't go." he adds.

As Maggie assists Hal in getting back on to the bed, she replies, "I won't go."

She helps him so that he may be lying back down on his back again, as he was before she had entered. Hal is reluctant to close his eyes and allow sleep to take him, despite the pain that he feels throughout his body and the weakness that is convincing him he needs to rest; for some reason which he cannot think of entirely he does not wish to allow sleep to take him because he fears he will not wake from it.

"Close your eyes, Hal." Maggie tells him, simply.

He does just as she tells him to, and slowly closes his eyes. He only has to wait a moment before she speaks again and as she does her voice is just as soft.

"Now, what?" he asks her.

These words, this conversation, it all feels so incredibly familiar to her and she remembers, quickly, where they had a similar conversation; the day that they were to find out if the cancer had returned. Hal had been there for her just as she would be there for him now.

Maggie pulls the chair that she finds herself seated on towards the edge of Hal's bedside. She does not hesitate to rest her hand, ever so gently, on top of his just as he had done to her once, not so long ago.

But that night – it does, in this moment, feel as though it was so incredibly long ago when it truly wasn't so long ago.

Hal opens his eyes at Maggie's touch and as she catches his gaze she smiles, kindly, at him just as he had smiled at her that night.

"I'm not going anywhere." she whispers.

Those few words, along with her hand now softly holding his, is all Hal needs to hear and feel to allow himself to sleep. Despite that Maggie had attempted to reassure him several times that she would not leave him, he finds that he believes her more now than he did before. Now, he finds that he may allow sleep to finally take him because when he wakes she will be there by his side, just as he needs her to be.

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to thank every single person who reads my story - You are all incredibly awesome and I do believe that I am so lucky to have such incredible readers. Thanks for your constant support.**

**OK, so the other night it was very late and I was alone in my house but my Dad was outside. And so, I was just listening to music, bobbing away, writing a chapter for this story and as the song changes I hear this really strange sound. At first, it was so low I thought I was imagining it and so I tried to continue on but since I was entirely alone in the house, I couldn't concentrate and so I called out to my Dad at least seven times, and no response? I didn't freak-out, yet. I tried listening to upbeat songs but the sound happens again. And you know, it's raining badly because there have been pretty bad storms lately but I can still hear this noise. And it gets louder, and soon enough it starts sounding something very similar to mech and I don't know if it's just me but the mech sounds make my skin crawl. So, just like last time, my immediate thoughts are, "Yep. I'm so dead. I might as well be dead already. I've accepted it. I can't outrun a mech." It was really late at night, so my tiredness could have added to me believing it was a mech. ****Anyway, the sound continues and then I find out that it was my Dad! He didn't even know that I was home and was deciding to 'play' with one of his new work '****toys' (He's a builder).**

**So, I think I'm too involved with Falling Skies, but I don't think that's really such a bad thing, is it?  
**

**This chapter is for Jia-Lerman-Jonas, JoyScott13, Agus, DriftigCloudz, Flyawayhome624, FallingSkiesxxxHalMason AND it's also for the readers, the followers, the favouriters, and for the reviewers. Also, for my sister for her valuable input on this.**

**Dear Guest Reviewer Agus; posted on chap. 51;  
I am trying to update as quickly as I can. I'm happy that you enjoyed the last part, the talk between Bend and Maggie and what Tom said - I did feel as though it was a scene that could have happened in the show and was true to the characters. I do hope that you are quite pleased with this chapter, and with all that happened with Hal. I've missed writing the real Hal, too! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations, and I hope you enjoy you so much for reading and reviewing. :)**

**As always, I apologise for any grammatical errors. I read over the chapters thoroughly but I always miss something, so please if you find any let me know.**

**Sorry for the mini-essay long A/N, and the story about the 'mech' you probably didn't want to hear.**

**I'm sorry if, again, it's not the greatest - I'm quite nervous actually as I'm not sure how you guys are going to respond to the Maggie/Hal scenes or just the whole thing in general and whether you're going to like this chapter. I do hope you like it. **

**Enjoy. Thanks for reading.  
x**


	53. Bleeding on sundown

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal finds sleep easily as his body and mind are both so weakened that sleep was inevitable and it was only time until he was consumed by it. Despite that he falls into it with ease, he does not sleep peacefully or without great distress inside as a darkness comes towards him, engulfing him entirely and ravaging his insides until he is painfully helpless and stuck as the flashes of memories that he had not been able to see clearly continue to taunt him.

They cruelly taunt him with words that he cannot remember speaking and things he cannot remember doing. He is a helpless bystander watching something that he does not quite understand and despite that he does not long to watch it he cannot pull himself away or wake from the hauntings.

As the darkness parts and allows another flicker, of what could be a memory or something created by his mind, come to view before Hal's closed eyes. The memory flickers like a candle sitting by a window on an incredibly windy night. As the wind howls, the candle remains unsteady and almost unseeable to the human eye. But the winds stops eventually and soon enough the small flame comes into view and becomes a stronger, clearer sight just as the picture playing in Hal's mind does.

It takes him quite some time for the realization of what it is he is remembering, and as he does he truly cannot believe that it could be a memory. He sees his brother Ben and he sees a skitter – It becomes blurry, for a moment, until it settles down and becomes just clear enough so that Hal may see the moment that he hits his brother in the back of the head with a rock, knocking him seemingly unconscious and leaving him to bleed out on the ground.

A deep, sharp breath passes Hal's lip as he awakens from what he cannot truly believe is a memory but rather a concoction of his imagination. He's breathing significantly deeper, now, as he attempts to convince himself that it wasn't true, it wasn't real, because he would not hurt his brother in such a way.

"Hey," Maggie says, softly.

Hal hadn't realized that she had been by his side when he had woken because he'd been too deep in the darkness, too consumed by the hauntings, to realize. He feels slightly less panicked, now, at the sight of Maggie standing by his bedside.

A small, tiny smile appears on her features as she gazes down at Hal. He looks tired and despite that Maggie believed that sleep may help him it hasn't appeared as though it did do any good at all. She cannot help but think, as she looks down upon him, that he almost doesn't look like the same Hal Mason that she met those many months ago.

It causes her great pain, and sadness, to think that the Hal Mason that she sees before her eyes now is a shattered shadow of his former self.

Maggie can hear Ben's words replaying in her mind about Hal whether Hal was really, truly, as strong as they had always believed him to be. He had always been the fearless, strong, brave fighter who would willingly give himself up so that others would be safe. Maggie cannot help but believe that Ben was right as he spoke of Hal not looking strong, or fearless, but rather looking weakened and broken.

Hal continues to breathe deeply in and out, as a few beads of sweat roll down his forehead and into his eyes – he wipes them away, to clear his vision, and lets his hand fall weakly down to his side. He closes his eyes briefly as he attempts to gain some sort of feeling of control over his body which is still consumed with the utmost pain.

"Maggie….." Hal whispers; her name sounds so sad, so incredibly weak, as it passes his lips and as he speaks he makes no attempt to open his eyes or to look at Maggie because he finds that he cannot find the strength to do so in this moment.

"I'm right here, Hal." she answers, quickly.

Hal struggles to open his eyes and when he finally does, he whispers, "It…..Can you….Anne?"

"You want me to get Anne?" Maggie asks; she casts a very quick look over Hal before she continues, "What's wrong-"

"It hurts, Maggie." he answers, simply, because he finds that's all he can say.

Maggie tells Hal that she will be right back with Anne, before she steps out of the curtains and heads down towards the end of the bus where she finds that Anne is tending to Lourdes. As Maggie had stepped out of the bus, Tom had almost jumped off of the seat he had been resting on and had moved towards her.

He was desperate to know how Hal was doing because Maggie had been in with him for almost three hours and had not stepped outside or said a word to anyone.

As he hears footsteps nearby, Hal lets out a small sight; assuming that it is Maggie returning with Anne. He opens his eyes, which were previously shut, to find that it is not Maggie or Anne but rather Pope who cannot contain the repulsion he is wearing on his features.

Hal's eyes flicker down slowly to the rifle firmly held in Pope's hands and despite that Pope is holding this gun directly at him, Hal does not struggle or attempt to talk Pope out of doing such a thing. Hal does not even make an attempt at moving so if Pope were to fire he wouldn't be hit.

Instead, Hal holds Pope's fury filled gaze with his own empty expression and waits for Pope to speak because he knows that something is wrong and Pope will surely be the one to gladly speak of such thing.

As Hal stares at the rifle it's as though he is having a flashback of sorts; he hears several gun shots echoing through his mind and yet Pope does not seem to hear them.

"Don't go makin' any moves, Mason Junior, or I'll blow a hole in you so wide all the other creepies will just fall right out." Pope warns him; he looks tired, weakened, and stressed as though he is in great pain and has not been able to let sleep take him peacefully either.

Just as Pope takes a step closer, towards Hal who is still unmoving and silent because he is not fearful of Pope, Anne and Maggie step through the curtain with Tom close behind them.

Tom had ignored Anne's words about how it would be best for Hal to want to see his father 'in his own time' because Tom didn't believe that Hal truly knew what was best for him in the current state he was in and it was Tom's job, his duty, as his father to do what was best for him and take care of him.

Maggie reaches for her guns and pulls them out, simultaneously, aiming them at Pope. Tom reaches for the rifle that was previously slung around his right shoulder and also aims it at Pope.

"Pope…." Anne begins; she speaks slowly and cautiously but is careful not to take a step forward.

"Put it down, Pope." Maggie says, warning him.

"Don't think so, Maggie-May." Pope replies, quickly. "You know that saying, 'An eye for a bug-infested eye?'" he adds.

"What – What-I…." Hal begins but he falls silent for a moment.

He falls silent as he attempts to, desperately, piece together all the shattered and unclear fragments he can see with all that Pope is speaking of creepies in his head.

"Pope, put it down." Tom tells him; his voice is filled with such a confidence that echoes through the room, clearly telling Pope that he will shoot him if he is to fire at his son.

What – eye for an eye?" Hal asks, weakly, from the bed as he attempts to sit up but he finds that he cannot and so instead stays as he is, lying on his back.

"Alien infested eye." Pope corrects him.

"Dad?" Hal mutters; he looks up at his father with such confusion and fear on his features that the pain and guilt that Tom already feels deepens greatly.

Pope shakes his head and with a slight smile, he says, "Oh, no….Not talkin' about dear old daddy, here, Mason Junior."

"Pope." Tom warns; he takes another step forward as he speaks.

Tom is warning Pope not to speak of such things because it is not Pope's place to tell his son what has happened in these past months and how he came to be like he is now.

"How do we know-" Pope begins; he was about to go onto an extremely loud and angry rant about how they cannot possibility know with complete and utter certainty that Hal Mason is free of the critters, just as they cannot know if Tom Mason is free of them.

"He put a bullet in me, and Anthony – And you expect me to just walk away, like nothing happened?" Pope says; he's almost growling, now.

"No. I don't. Don't walk away like nothing happened- it did. Just walk away." Tom tells him; he lowers his gun as he continues, "Just walk away."

Pope angrily holds Tom gaze for a moment, before he mutters something along the lines of how he would like 'To put Tom Mason in a mason jar.'

Anne steps past Maggie who is only know putting her guns away, and moves towards Hal's bedside. He doesn't look better, in the slightest, from when she had checked on his state only a few hours ago.

"Hi Hal, how are you feeling?" Anne asks, softly, as she leans over Hal and attempts to begin to check his wounds.

Hal pulls away, though; he recoils away from Anne as though she may become poisoned or tarnished if she is to touch him because he knows now that there is so much that has been kept from him about what he has done and how he came to be here.

"I put a bullet in Anthony and Pope." Hal says; it's not as though he is asking whether he did such a thing but rather stating it.

He cannot remember clearly doing so but he can hear the sound of bullets echoing in his mind and he can almost remember pulling the trigger on them just as he remembers hitting Ben with the rock.

"Hal…." Anne begins; she still continues to speak with a soft and caring tone. "Now, is not the time…"

"I shot Anthony and Pope." Hal repeats.

Maggie casts a quick look over Hal before she shifts her gaze towards Tom and then Anne. She can see how badly Tom longs to be by his son's side and convince him that despite he cannot know with complete certainty that everything will be fine from here on out he wishes to convince Hal so.

As much reluctantcy that Maggie feels in leaving Hal, something she was uncertain that she would feel to this extent after all he had done, she knows that he and Tom need a moment together, alone, and she will allow them to have this moment as she had been so lucky as to have spent hours by Hal's sleeping side and she does believe that Tom and Hal deserve to spend a moment together.

Maggie announces that she is going to step outside to give Hal and Tom a moment, once Anne has finished checking over and tending to Hal's wounds. Hal is, as Maggie had feared he would be, so incredibly reluctant for her to leave and attempts to, several times, sit up or stand so as to stop Maggie from leaving. Anne has to prevent him from doing so as she continually repeats that what Hal needs is to rest and stay calm, and not to bring himself any further pain by unnecessary movements.

Hal stays half sitting, half lying up, as he asks Maggie once more not to leave him because he is so incredibly fearful that she is going to leave and not return. Maggie reassures him just as she had done the earlier a night; with a soft smile, as she reassures him that she won't be leaving him.

Hal's body relaxes, only slightly, upon hearing those words and seeing Maggie's smile and upon viewing her smile he cannot help but believe that there is something missing from it. He cannot understand why he would believe such a thing or what it is that is missing but something has disappeared.

"Hal, I need to check your wounds." Anne tells him, before she releases a small sigh.

Hal glances so very slowly from Anne towards Tom, who is standing only a few feet down from Anne. Hal remains silent for a moment as he considers what his next words will be and how he can learn the truth from them.

"How did I….get the-the wounds?" Hal asks; it really is such a simple question but it does not receive the simple answer that Hal had hoped it would.

Instead, his question receives a more complicated answer that works its way skilfully around the question without properly addressing it.

"You don't need to worry about that, Hal. You're going to be alright. All that you need to think about is getting better." Anne tells him, gently.

Hal shakes his head, ever so slightly; he is adamant that he must know what Pope was speaking of and how he came to hold these injuries that pain him so. He needs to know the truth about what he has done and who he has hurt because he can see, in his father's, Anne's, Maggie's and Ben's eyes that they are hiding something.

He cannot be sure what it is they are hiding or why it is they are keeping it from him. He only knows that whatever it is, it is causing each of them a great deal of pain and he can only assume, and fear, that he is the one to have caused them such pain.

"Dad….." Hal begins, with a softer tone. "I just – I need the truth." he adds.

"And you'll get it, Hal. You will." Tom tells him.

"Now…." Hal says; it's not as though he is demanding for Tom to tell him the truth and he isn't really asking for it.

He's hoping, and pleading, that his father will confide in him the truth about all of it because this complete confusion that he is confined to, the pain that he is consumed by and the darkness that is inside of his mind and his body is too hard. It's all too incredibly painful and he can't deal with it all entirely on his own and despite that he isn't physically alone he feels as though he is.

He feels empty, isolated, as though those around him are purposely distancing themselves from him because he has committed such atrocious and painful acts that they cannot physically or mentally stand to be around him for a sustained period of time.

"Not now, Hal." Tom answers, quickly.

Hal lets out a small, defeated sigh before he replies, "I need to…know."

Tom shakes his head, while still holding his son's gaze, as he tells him, "What you need is rest."

Tom speaks as though he truly knows what Hal needs better than Hal knows himself and Tom does truly believe that.

Hal answers, with a much louder voice, "What I need is the truth!"

"No!" Tom replies quickly and without hesitation. "You need to rest, Hal. End of discussion." he adds; his voice also rises despite that he had not intended it to do so.

He doesn't want to yell at his son, especially considering the state that he is in, but what Hal needs so badly is to rest and to not have all of the guilt, that would surely accompany all that he has done, and all of the confusion, of the knowledge of a bug in his mind, weighing down upon his already broken and battered body.

Anne sighs, softly, "Tom….."

She takes a slow step towards Tom, and begins to speak but falls silent as she hears Hal attempting to reason with his father over these matters.

"End of – Dad, please…." Hal says; he is almost pleading, now, because he so badly needs to know the truth.

What confirms Hal's fears that he had done something so truly horrible is Tom's denial and refusal to speak of the truth despite how badly Hal desires and longs for it.

"No." Tom answers; his voice remains calm, as he continues," I'm your father, and I'm saying no."

Anne lifts her right hand slowly and places it gently on Tom's shoulder, before she whispers, "Tom, please. Don't. He-"

"I shot them, didn't I?" Hal speaks over Anne; it's not really a question, though, because he already believes in his heart that he did shoot Anthony and Pope because Pope would have absolutely no reason to lie about such things.

"I won't answer that." Tom answers.

Despite Tom's refusal to answer his question, Hal knows truly that what Tom is really saying is, 'yes' – He did shoot Pope and Anthony. His father is just too far deep in denial to believe that his son could do such a thing.

Hal repeats, with a sadder but slightly louder tone "Didn't I?"

"Tom, please…." Anne sighs, as looks directly into his gaze. He, almost reluctantly, meets hers as she continues, "I think that you should step outside."

Tom finds the very idea of him 'stepping outside' to be an absurd thing and so h refuses because he cannot and will not leave his son.

"I'm not leaving my boy." Tom answers, simply, before he pulls away so slightly from Anne so that her hand is no longer resting, gently, on his shoulder.

"Didn't I?" Hal asks; there is such utter confusion and pain echoing off of his voice as he speaks, as he desperately attempts to find some truth in this thick fog of confusion and darkness that swirls around his mind.

While his physical injuries may be easier for Hal to understand, what he cannot fathom is how his mind came to be so incredibly weak. And his mind is weak; he finds that it takes so much of his already almost non-existent strength to attempt to put a face to a name, or to remember something as simple as a memory.

"I'm not answering that." Tom repeats, confidently.

Hal attempts to move, now; he weakly attempts to sit up, and possibly stand, from the bed that he feels that, despite that he is no longer physically bound to it, tied to as though he cannot even if he wanted to break free from it.

Anne leaves over Hal now, and with gentle hands she attempts to stop him from moving. "Hal, don't try –" she begins. "Please, don't try to move." she repeats; her tone is that of an authoritative one but also a pleading one as it would only harm Hal for him to move, now.

"I don't know why I'm like this – " Hal admits; his expression falls into that of an incredibly and deeply saddened and confused one. "Tell me, please, tell me." he says, pleading with his father.

Anne turns briefly to glance up at Tom, before she whispers, "Tom…..He should-"

"You're a doctor, Anne, his doctor." Tom says, before Anne can finish speaking. "He's not well, is he?" he asks; the pain that Tom feels in regards to Hal's wellbeing and current state is clear in his eyes, and in his voice. "He needs to rest." he adds; now, it is as though Tom is pleading with Anne to allow Hal to rest simply because they can speak of these things when he has healed.

Hal attempts to sit up, again, and without Anne attempting to stop him he stops – He feels such strong, surging pain through his back that he finds himself unable to sit up any further and so he allows his body to collapse and fall back on to the bed as he had rested not so long ago.

"What I need is the truth." he says, softly.

The determination and the desire to know the truth still echoes in Hal's voice, it still remains in his eyes and remains painted on his expression but there is something missing; the fight, the strength that he had felt moments earlier to continue fighting Tom to insist that he needed to know the truth, has disappeared and he looks weaker than he had earlier.

Tom answers, softly and simply, "No."

Hal cannot control the expression on his features as it shifts from that of a weakened and tired one to that of a deeply saddened one. "I hurt Ben, didn't I?" he asks; he speaks through a deep, laboured breath as though he is trying to not allow himself to break entirely.

He does not wish to break entirely before them because he can already see, in their eyes, that they look at him with such pity and worry as though he is incredibly weak and fragile and with the slightest wrong movement he might break entirely.

Maggie hadn't looked at him that way; her eyes had, to some extent, been shielded but she hadn't looked at him with pity. The sadness had remained in her eyes, just as the worry and the pain had but there had been absolutely no traces of pity in her eyes and that was why he had allowed himself to fall apart before her. Although, with Maggie he truly didn't have much of a choice and before he had decided on doing so he had already broken and he couldn't return.

"Did I? Dad?" Hal asks, again.

Tom releases a very deep, long breath of air before he lifts his hands to his face and runs them up his forehead and over his hair, down to the back of his neck. He closes his eyes, briefly, before re-opening them and nodding once, ever so slightly.

"You didn't know what you were doing." Tom answers, honestly.

He hesitates in speaking as he watches Hal tense up, physically, noticeably. He looks pained and ill, as though he might be physically sick at the thought of harming another especially his brother.

"The bruises will fade, Hal. He's fine. He really is." Tom says, softly and gently in an attempt to reassure Hal that he truly did no long lasting harm and that Ben is aware that he would never consciously do such a thing.

A small frown appears on Hal's worn, exhausted features, before he asks, with a voice that is filled with such strong fear, "The bruises on his neck?"

Hal had been speaking of how he had harmed Ben by hitting him, with the rock to the head, and leaving him unconscious in the forest. He had absolutely no knowledge of why he would have committed such a thing and why he would have caused his brother harm. Hal hadn't been speaking of the bruises on Ben's neck.

After realizing his mistake, Tom sighs, softly, but otherwise remains silent and continues to look down into Hal's eyes. "Hal…." he begins, when he finally speaks.

"The bruises on his neck." Hal repeats, as though he is coming to a new realization about it all and perhaps remembering a fragment of it. "I did that." he says; he's not asking, this time, but rather stating, confessing, that he did that to his own brother.

"Hal, please, don't-" Tom begins, gently.

"I'm g- I don't….." Hal stutters; his eyes begin to dart, quickly, around the room but he isn't looking for anything specifically but rather looking around the room because he truly cannot fathom how his father can stand to look upon him after he has done such things.

"Go." Hal says, simply; he is careful to avoid his father's direct gaze as he speaks.

"Hal, I'm not leaving." Tom answers quickly, without hesitation.

Hal does not acknowledge Tom's words or his presence, as he remains by his side, instead he continue to gaze out, silently, into the distance because the present moment is too painful for him to allow himself to feel as though he is part of it.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Maggie asks, Pope, loudly as she steps towards where he is resting against the edge of the bed that he had previously been confined to due to the weakness that had prevented him from moving until now.

Pope lets out a loud, deep sigh before he says, "What I don't get about you, Maggie-May, is that he could still be bugged and yet you go _running_ back?"

He places a particular emphasis on the word 'running' as though it is such a desperate or foolish thing for Maggie to be going back to him despite all that he is done.

"You put a gun on him again, Pope…." Maggie begins; the expression on her tired features is just as serious and threatening as her voice, as she continues, "And it'll be the last thing you ever do."

As Maggie says the words, Pope does truly believe that she would stay true to them if he were to put a gun on Hal again but if the time comes and it is necessary for him to do just that he won't hesitate.

"What're you gonna do?" Pope asks; he tilts his head to the side as he asks, in a lower tone, "Shoot me?"

"What Hal did, to you – It wasn't him." Maggie states, ignoring Pope's question completely.

"How do we know that there, in that room, is him?" Pope asks; as he speaks he gestures, with his left hand, towards Hal's room. "You know, you thought it was the 'real' Mason Junior before, and you were dead wrong, Maggie-May. Dead wrong." he tells her; he holds her gaze with his own which is just as empty, and just as dark, as hers.

"I knew it wasn't him, entirely." Maggie admits. "I didn't know that it was a bug." she adds, with a much lower tone.

"An' now, is he bug or human, or both?" Pope questions; he hesitates before he continues, "How can you know? You can't! There's only one end for this and it sure as hell ain't a happy ending, Maggie."

"I know that it's him." Maggie repeats, without any hesitation whatsoever.

"Oh, you do?" Pope asks; the smallest, fakest smile appears on his features before he continues, "Uh, that's real sweet. I might just throw up at how sweet it is."

"Hal is scared, weak and he has no idea of what he's done. Don't treat him like the enemy, when he's not." Maggie warns him; her tone rises again and sounds like a more threatening one as she speaks.

Pope releases a big sigh before he says, "You treat me like I'm the enemy-"

Maggie cuts him off, and says, "You're not."

A small frown appears of Pope's features before he asks, "Is that a compliment? Well, I'd never have thought-"

Maggie cuts Pope off, quickly, by asking, "If it were Benjamin, in there – in Hal's position, what would you do?"

When she receives silence to her question, Maggie continues, "You'd protect him, wouldn't you? I don't care if you protect Hal, you don't have to. That's not your job. He's not your family. But don't treat him like he's the enemy when the enemy is out there."

"Alright, Maggie-May, well you just better remember that the enemy is out there, and not me, next time you're back to hating me!" Pope tells Maggie, as she begins to walk away from him.

* * *

After falling into a silence that he refused to break, Hal had stayed still and silent as the bus continued on moving forward. He hadn't spoken to his father or to Anne, who after checking his wounds and tending to them had both left him to be alone. It was Anne's suggestion, that they leave Hal alone, and he was silently thankful that she had suggested such a thing as he did truly want to be alone so that he may attempt to find some, even a little, understanding in all that had occurred.

It only a few moments after Tom and Anne had stepped out, away from Hal, did the bus come to a halt. It must have been Captain Weaver, causing all of the buses and trucks to stop since he was indeed at the front of the line.

Tector had been given the order by Captain Weaver that all were to remain on the bus until he gave the orders otherwise and so Tector ensured that all on the med-bus remained as they were despite how on edge they were, just as he was, at the sudden stop of movement of the Second Mass.

After a few moments of an incredibly tense silence, a banging on the outside door of the med bus and the sudden appearance of Weaver causes Tector to open the doors of the bus. Weaver steps on slowly, and almost cautiously, as his ankle is still incredibly sore and needs to be tended to by Anne but he knows that it can wait until they are settled because there are more important matters to be handled with.

Logan and Broderick accompany Captain Weaver; they stay close behind him as he moves down the bed bus and towards Doctor Glass and Tom, who both look just as worn and tired as the other.

"Why are we stopping, Dan?" Tom asks; as he speaks he holds Weaver's direct gaze, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Dai and Ronald scouted ahead. There's a building, two miles east of the road. An old library, it appears. We can stay there for a day, or two." Weaver informs Tom; as he stops speaking he shifts, almost awkwardly, as though there is more that they need to speak of.

"We shouldn't be going to a library, Dan." Tom objects, after letting out a very deep sigh. "What we need – What Hal needs, is a hospital. Somewhere he can be properly taken care of." Tom adds.

"I can take care of him in a library, Tom. I've done it before." Anne whispers, softly.

Tom cranes his neck so that he may better look at Anne, before he says, "Last time you took care of him, you missed an infection that could kill him. What if you miss it again because you don't have the proper facilities?"

Anne tenses up, noticeably; her posture stiffens and she hesitates before she answers, "I didn't miss Hal's infection, Tom. He wasn't showing any signs."

"We're not going to another hospital." Logan cuts in, loudly.

The frown that had already rested on Tom's features becomes deeper, as he asks, "I'm sorry – You're not the Second in command for the Second Mass, are you? Therefore you do not hold the right to make that decision. You're also not Hal Mason's father and so you will not make decisions on behalf of his wellbeing and what he needs."

Logan continues, with an impassive tone and unreadable expression, "With all due respect, Tom Mason, Hal Mason is a Prisoner-"

"A prisoner of who, exactly? He is no such thing!" Tom answers, quickly; he raises his voice significantly as he speaks, because he is so incredibly angry that they would call Hal such a thing. "All hierarchical order or structure, including that of the military and the government, has been non-existent since the war began."

"Tom….." Dan sighs, softly.

"You can't seriously – Dan." Tom stops; he turns to look directly at Dan now, as he continues, "You can't do this. I won't let you. You're not going to take my son and trial him for things that were beyond his control."

"We're not, Tom." Weaver reassures him. "We need to watch him, Tom, to-"

"To what – Make sure that he's not the enemy? He's not the enemy." Tom says; as he speaks he cannot truly hide the anger that rises through his voice and echoes in the room.

"He's a potential threat." Logan states, simply.

"You know…." Tom begins. "I thought the same thing about you on your arrival." he admits.

"Tom…." Broderick says; he releases a small sigh before he continues, "Our main concern an' our priority is keeping the fighters of the Second Mass alive. That's all….An' we saw that bug, in his head. We blew it up. That's not a good thing, Tom. It isn't good at all."

"This may come as a surprise to you but that has always been my main concern, my top priority, and it will continue to be for as long as I live." Tom counters, quickly.

"When we've settled into the library, which is where we are going, Tom, I'll need to speak with him." Weaver announces; he hesitates before he adds, "Once everything is settled, we need to talk."

Tom nods, one, and answers with an impassive tone, "I know that, Dan."

Tom knows that it is only a matter of time before he and Dan have to have a conversation about all that Hal had done, to Pope, Anthony and Ben, and about why he had done such things. Tom only hopes that he can avoid that conversation for as long as is needed for Hal to recover because he fears that Hal won't be able to handle such things.

* * *

The buses start up again not long after Logan, Broderick and Captain Weaver get off the med bus. They leave the bus in the same state in which they had found it: in a silence that those who remain behind are not certain how to fill even if they were able to.

Ben couldn't bring himself to see Hal just yet, despite how badly he had wanted to. He had truly believed that he could, if Hal were to wake, be by his brother's side and help him just as Hal would help him if he were in his position. But he wasn't in Hal's position.

Hal was wounded, weakened, and he would never be the same again and Ben couldn't, despite how badly he had wanted to, trade places with his brother or at the very least take some of the pain, the blame and the fear the he was certain that his brother help.

It wasn't because Ben didn't want to help Hal that he didn't enter, and didn't stand by his side. It was because Ben was uncertain. He was uncertain of how to treat his brother, now. He was uncertain of all that Hal could remember and all that he couldn't. He was uncertain of his brother's future, his life.

There was too much uncertainty and Ben believed that if he were to speak to Hal he wouldn't be able to comfort him as he needed or reassure him that everything would be perfectly fine because it really couldn't be fine. The truth of it was that Hal could never return to who he was even if he had wanted to.

Once Hal had learned the knowledge of the bug that had been implanted in his mind and had controlled his every movement, causing to do horrible and cruel things, Hal could never be who he once was. That part of Hal, the old Hal, was dying and Ben could not step through the curtains and see the flicker of his old brother only to watch it die when the realization of what he had done dawned upon him.

Ben held a secret; he held a terrible, chilling, painful secret that would forever haunt his mind and once it was revealed to the others it would also haunt theirs. They would never look at Hal with the love and trust that they once did. They would not respect him instead they would fear him. They would not help him to heal but instead damage him further.

They would be incapable of _truly_ understanding that it had not been Hal – Ben knew that his father would be able to understand, just as Maggie Anne would but it was very likely that it would be limited to the three of them and Ben who could truly understand.

Understanding does not guarantee acceptance; Ben, sadly, knew that his father would not truly be able to accept Hal for what he had done, for the life that he had taken. Ben knew that he should reveal Hal's secret, what had happened to the 'other human' which could only mean Billy, but he couldn't do such a thing.

Ben wanted to allow Hal to have a few, tiny moments of peace before the wave of guilt, blood and death came crashing down onto him and suffocating him entirely. Ben knew that it would. He feared that this wave would suffocate Hal, and yet he was entirely helpless to stop it. Ben couldn't understand what Hal was thinking or feeling because it was so incredibly complicated but Ben could still understand his brother and he feared what would become of Hal when the truth returned to him.

Hal could never possibly be the same person that he once was; the brother that Ben had always secretly looked up to, the brother he'd admired and had been proud of for all of his life – and yet, despite how he looked up to him Ben had never informed Hal of it.

He had hidden it because he hadn't found the way to tell Hal. Instead, they had fought and Ben had never truly been able to tell Hal what he thought of him, as a brother and as a friend, and he had never been able to speak of how greatly he had cared for his brother.

All that Ben believed that he could do now, for Hal, was to protect him; he would protect him from anyone that would try to harm him and stand up against those who would treat him as the enemy because despite that Ben was still incredibly cautious and weary of his brother, because of what he had done to him, he would still stand up for him because that's what brothers do – It's what family does for each other and it is really just as simple as that.

* * *

"Isaac!" Logan calls out, loudly, upon catching sight of Isaac getting out of the Humvee that had travelled at the front of the group, behind Captain Weaver's car.

Isaac had travelled with Conor in the first Humvee, while Logan and Broderick had travelled together in the second and Ronald had driven with the Captain. The Marines had taken the lead and directed the trucks and bus of the Second Mass towards the Library; they had scouted it out, first, and after giving the all clear the other fighters had moved in.

Isaac slowly turns around, somewhat hesitantly, to find Logan moving quickly towards him. He recognises his brother's expression instantly; he's angry, furious, with Isaac and he already knows as Logan moves towards him how this conversation ends.

"Yes?" Isaac answers, casually and coolly; he takes a very slow step towards Logan because his legs are still a little unsteady on him.

The feeling should pass, in time, and Isaac believes that it will truly be for the best if he pretends that nothing ever occurred and he does not think of it again.

"Would you mind informing me of your whereabouts in the battle?" Logan asks; he comes to a halt before Isaac and waits for Isaac's response.

"Patrol." Isaac answers, simply.

Logan replies, quickly, "I didn't assign you to patrol."

Isaac tells him, with a louder tone, "The Captain did."

"You were out there, alone? Why?" he queries.

Isaac straightens up before he answers, "I'm a big boy."

The expression on Logan's face shifts into a, if possible, more serious and stern one before he says, with a louder tone, "You were not there for the entire battle and your response is 'patrol'? You did not return upon hearing the fire of weapons, did you? You did not come to the aid of those in need, did you? And yet, your response is a pathetic one with absolutely no remorse in regards to those who were injured."

Isaac does not hesitate to reply, "I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"I don't care what you have to say." Logan replies, quickly; his voice only rises with anger as he says, "You listen here, Isaac, and you listen well because I have no intention of repeating myself. I will not fight beside a coward. I will not allow a coward to remain as a fighter in the Second Mass. I will not have a coward in my unit, and I'll be damned if I'll have a _coward_ for a brother."

As he speaks he places an emphasis on the word 'coward' as though he truly believes his brother to have been a coward during the battle and to have only returned upon the ceasefire.

"This will not happen again. Will it?" Logan questions; as he receives silence he repeats, "Will it?

"No." Isaac answers, simply, and that's all that he says.

Isaac had believed that the conversation would, indeed, take a turn and end up with his brother insulting him but he did not believe or expect for his brother to repeatedly name him as a coward when he truly wanted to return but had been unable to move faster, and finding Ben Mason tied up in the forest had delayed his return.

"Start unpacking, Isaac." Logan orders; as he finishes speaking he turns away and returns to his duties as though such a conversation with his brother never occurred.

* * *

After assisting all those who had needed assistance in getting of the bus, Anne had remained with Tector and Tom; both of whom had volunteered to carry Hal in, and towards the room that Lourdes had set up for Hal moments earlier, on a stretcher as Anne had told them that he was too physically weak to stand or walk by himself and attempting to do such a thing right now would surely only cause him greater pain.

As Anne pulls back the curtains, she finds Hal lying on his back with his eyes open and his lips pressed together. He looks tired, exhausted, and as she stands before him she finds that he does not glance in her direction or towards anyone else on the bus.

Maggie returns to the bus just as the curtain has been drawn back, showing Hal. Upon viewing her, in the distance, Hal turns his neck slowly and soon enough he is gazing in her direction. She smiles, sadly, at him but this is not enough to cause a smile to appear on his features or for a word to pass his lips.

"We're moving you inside, Hal." Maggie tells him.

He does not verbally respond to her or give her any indication that he understands what it is she is saying but he does understand; she knows that he understands because she understands Hal.

Maggie used to believe that she understood everything about Hal Mason and she does, to some extent, still believe that but it has changed. She understands everything about who Hal Mason used to be; brave, fearless, mature and strong.

This Hal, the one who lies before, is different. There are some similarities between this Hal and the Hal who used to be there. Perhaps, one day she'll get him back and she'll understand and recognise all in him that she once did in him.

Perhaps, she believes, that there will be one day in the future where neither she nor Hal will feel any pain or sadness and that there will be no darkness around them or inside of them. That day could be filled with such love, hope and happiness.

The one day where the can find complete happiness and light with the other, and simply allow themselves to love the other, could be years away. It could be a dream or a fantasy, or it could be real and it could be waiting for them.

That _one _day, however far away it may be from today or the days to come, is worth the wait.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all :)  
I wasn't intending to update tonight as I wasn't sure that I could finish this chapter in time but I did, and I do hope that you enjoy reading it.**

**Thank you to everyone who follows this story, favourites, and reads it. Thanks, also to; Jia-Lerman-Jonas, JoyScott13, DriftingCloudz, FallingSkiesxxxHalMason, Flyawayhome624 and Sirnonenath. Reading your reviews, with your lovely words, made me want to update as soon as I could.**

**As always, sorry for any grammatical errors. Let me know.**

**I apologise for the lack of Maggie/Hal interaction, as well as Tom/Hal or Ben/Hal - I'll be going into those individual reactions in more detail in upcoming chapters.**

**Here it is. I hope you enjoy.  
x**


	54. Hollow chests of blackened gold

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

The library that the Second Mass seeks shelter in is, much to Tom's surprise, not as destroyed or as dangerous as they'd first suspected that it might be. They set up barriers, made of wood, on the broken windows and do several detailed patrols of the area before they move inside. It is a large scale library; with dark red and black patterned carpet, two wooden staircases leading up to a second level and thousands upon thousands of books.

Tom only wishes that they hadn't come to be here under such circumstances as it truly is a beautifully library and if only they had the time to appreciate it all.

Tom and Tector had slowly, but quickly, carried Hal inside on a stretcher towards the room which Anne had informed Lourdes to prepare for him. It was a room on the first level of the library – all soldiers were to remain and sleep, when they slept, one the first level of the library as Weaver believed it was truly better this way.

They were each allowed to take whatever rooms Anne and Lourdes hadn't first taken for the wounded, injured or ill.

After setting Hal down onto the green cot on which he usually, when sleeping in tents, rests on Tom steps outside to speak with Anne whom he finds moving towards Hal's room.

"Anne, we can have a word?" Tom asks; he steps in front of her, to stop her from walking past him entirely.

"OK, Tom. About what?" she asks; despite that she still speaks to him with a kindness he can still see, clearly, that she is unhappy about their earlier argument just as he is.

"I'm sorry, Anne…..I am. I didn't – I'm just…." Tom begins; he stops to release a deep breath of air before he continues, "He's my son. I'm worried, that's all. I didn't – I didn't mean…I've got two sons, who have been harnessed by skitters. The other son is – in Charleston, god knows how he's doing. Now, my eldest was being controlled by aliens…When I swore I would protect them, I believed that I could and that I would but I really can't, can I, Anne? I mean, I should have always realized that you can't always protect the people you love, despite how badly you want to. Even though it kills you, you're helpless."

"You are not helpless." Anne corrects him. "You're Tom Mason and the Tom Mason that I know, the one I love – He isn't helpless. He's a fighter and a leader who cares so greatly about his sons." she says, with a gentle tone.

Tom nods, sadly, as he takes a step towards Anne and takes her hands in his. "I just – I failed, Anne. I failed my boys." he mutters, lowly, so that only she will hear.

"No, you didn't. Don't you ever say that or think it again, Tom." Anne says; her tone is that of a much more confident one as she tells him to never, ever, say that he failed his boys.

"They're alive, Tom. That's all that matters. They will heal." she reassures him, before she lifts her right hand to his cheek and soothes it gently. "OK?" she adds.

"OK." Tom nods, with the tiniest, smallest smile.

Anne replies, softly, "They will heal, Tom. You just need to give them time. Time can do wonderful things."

* * *

"Isaac?" Ben calls out, his name, upon catching sight of him walking up the wooden staircase as though he is about to start his patrol.

Isaac turns around at the sound of his name being called out and his expression, which is that of an incredibly unreadable one, shifts only so slightly so that he may allow a small smile, the smallest, to appear on his features upon catching sight of Ben.

"Ben," Isaac answers; as he speaks he turns around and begins moving slowly back down the staircase and towards Ben who stands at the bottom of it.

"Sorry – I, uh….I didn't mean to interrupt your patrol….." Ben adds.

Isaac casts a very quick and unnoticeable look over the bruises on Ben's neck, before he answers, "I've done my patrol. You, uh – You look better."

"Do I?" Ben asks, before letting out a small sigh. "I don't feel it."

"No, you do. You looked like death, out there." Isaac admits; he lowers his head ever so slightly before he asks, "Is there something I can do for you, Ben?"

"Uh…." Ben hesitates. "Doesn't matter." he adds.

"No." Isaac answers, shaking his head slightly. "It does. I don't mind, really." he tells him.

"Ah, alright….." Ben begins. "Can we take a walk, or something?" he asks.

"You want to head upstairs? I was just going to do another round." Isaac informs him; he still continues to speak with a small smile on his face.

"Yep." Ben nods. "Alright." he adds, with a lower tone.

Ben and Isaac walk in a surprisingly comfortable silence until they are on the upstairs level of the library and are doing a second, quicker, patrol just to ensure that nobody missed something the first time.

"I just- I wanted to thank you." Ben admits as he follows Isaac into one of the many, many rooms lining the sides of the top level of the library.

Isaac answers, quickly, "Oh, you don't have to do that, Ben."

"No. I do." Ben insists. He continues, "You saved my life and I've no idea how to repay you…."

Isaac stops walking after checking the room and turns to face Ben. Without hesitation he tells him, "No need for that. You don't owe me anything."

"I know…." Ben sighs. "I just- You saved my life and if it weren't for you….." he begins but he trails off before he can finish those words.

He isn't entirely sure what would have happened to him but it couldn't have been good considering how The Overlord had claimed that Ben would still be of use to him.

"Thanks." Ben says, simply, with a small smile.

Isaac nods at Ben once, while smile, before he turns away and begins walking down towards the next room. Ben follows after him as he hears Isaac call out, "How's your brother doing? Better?"

Ben lets out a deeper, larger sigh before he admits, "Ah….I don't really know."

"They won't let you see him?" Isaac questions; he hesitates before he mutters, "Damn it. I told them-"

"No, it's not that." Ben says, quickly reassuring Isaac. "They will let us." he adds.

Now, the realization dawns upon Isaac that it is not his brother preventing Ben from seeing Hal but rather Ben is preventing himself, for some reason, and will not allow himself to see his brother.

"You don't want to see him." Isaac says; he's not really asking a question but rather stating the words.

Ben is reluctant to reply, but eventually he answers, "Not yet."

After checking out the room, thoroughly, Isaac turns to Ben and while holding his gaze he asks, "Any reason in particular for that?"

Ben nods, once, as he answers, "A couple….I guess you heard what happened, then, with the bug?"

"No, I didn't." Isaac answers; he frowns ever so slightly before he lifts his right hand to his right cheek and scratches it once. "What bug?" he asks, as he turns finally to face Ben.

Ben lowers his gaze, completely, away from Isaac's before he mutters, lowly, "Crawled right out of my brother's head….."

Isaac begins, "Bug as in-"

"Alien….The Overlord." Ben says, speaking over Isaac.

"Ah….." Isaac nods, once. He and Ben move simultaneously out of the room and step towards the next. "So, uh….That's why you 'borrowed' the grenade, from me….and put it in his mouth, is it?" Isaac questions. "Or just something you two do for fun?" he adds, with a slight smile in an attempt to break the extremely intensity of the conversation.

Ben smiles, only briefly, before he answers softly, "I had to….." He takes in a sharp, indrawn breath of air before he continues, "Your brother, and…..They want to kill him. I could see it in their eyes, on the bus."

Isaac does not hesitate in the slightest as he says, with an incredibly confident voice, "That's not going to happen, Ben."

When it appears as though Ben may speak in objection to what he has just said, about them not hurting Hal, Isaac speaks.

"You have my word." Isaac reassures him.

Ben holds Isaac's gaze only for a moment before he follows him into the next room. He remains silent until his eyes set down onto something he was certain that he wouldn't see again.

"Oh, you're kidding me…." Ben mutters.

Sitting on the first desk in the room are several Harry Potter books, nearly the entire set. It does seem, to Ben, like so long ago that his father would read him those books and they would enjoy them together.

"Deathly Hallows?" Isaac asks.

Ben had only caught Isaac glancing briefly at the book and wonders how he could possibly know what book it was when he so quickly cast his eye over it.

"Yeah…." Ben answers, quickly, as he picks the book up in his hands.

Isaac lets out a small sigh before he says, "I used to read them, all the time, with my niece."

"Did you?" Ben asks; he looks up to find Isaac standing before him.

He is gazing with a saddened expression down at the book that Ben holds in his hands. Isaac smiles sadly as though he is reminiscing about reading the book to his niece.

As Isaac finally meets Ben's gaze he glances away from him as though he is suddenly aware that Ben had been watching him reminisce. Isaac steps away from Ben and the book and moves towards the door; he steps outside and continues on without Ben.

"What happened?" Ben asks, as he follows Isaac outside.

"You haven't read them all?" Isaac questions; as he speaks he turns to look at Ben with a small, still sad, smile. "Oh, I've got to say, Ben. I'm a little disappointed-"

"Oh, yeah I have…I have read them." Ben answers; he nods once and looks down to realize he is still holding the book in his hands. "You should take it." Ben adds, as he extends the book out to Isaac.

Isaac simply shakes his head once before he replies, "Thought of a way you can make it up to me."

Ben answers, quickly, "Oh….How is that?"

"Margaret and I have patrol tonight." Isaac informs him. He continues with a lower tone, "I don't wish to bother her, considering-"

"Considering my brother's current state? You want me to be her replacement?" Ben asks him.

Isaac replies, simply, "Temporary, if you wanted. But, if you want-"

"I do." Ben agrees; he does believe that it would be good to give himself some form of distraction that may stop him from constantly thinking of his brothers and all that he has failed to do for them.

* * *

"Tom, Margaret. Thank you for coming." Weaver says, with a small smile, as he steps aside and allows the two of them to enter the room that he has set up as his own.

As always, many, many maps and charts have been set up and pinned to walls or spread over tables. Maggie and Tom enter the room to find Dai inside as well as Logan and Broderick who are all standing straight and still.

"How is he?" Weaver asks, before he closes the door to his room and turns to face all in the room.

"Let's cut to the chase, Dan. I know what this is about." Tom says, before he releases a small sigh.

Tector had come to find Tom, just as he had been apologising to Anne, and had told him of how Weaver had insisted that they talk things over now. Maggie had stepped outside just as Tector was speaking to Tom of this meeting and she would not take no for an answer on whether she would be allowed to attend.

"It's about the bug that came from your sons head." Logan announces, loudly; he does not move from where he stands so formally straight and still.

"Yes, the same bug that was killed by you and your men." Tom adds, loudly.

"Tom….We need to address the possibility that it may not be completely removed from Hal's mind." Weaver says, sighing softly as he finishes speaking.

"It is gone." Maggie says; she speaks with a confident tone because she does truly believe that the bug is gone from Hal.

"You can't be sure of that." Logan tells her; he speaks to her as though she is a foolish 'child' who is only so certain the bug is removed because of her feelings towards Hal Mason.

"I wasn't speaking to you." Maggie retorts, quickly.

"Regardless of whether you were or were not speaking to me, miss, we still cannot be entirely sure of whether the bug has been entirely removed." Logan tells her; he remains just as impassive and cold as when they had first entered.

"It's gone." Maggie repeats, forcefully.

"What we must speak of is what to do next." Weaver announces, loudly.

Dan continues to hold Tom's gaze for most of the conversation as where this conversation goes and how they choose to proceed with matters, in regards to Hal, will impact Tom the most, and then Maggie.

"Can I speak to Tom, alone?" Weaver asks; he looks briefly over Dai, Logan, Broderick and then to Maggie as he waits for their answers.

Logan and Broderick leave first followed by Dai and then a reluctant Maggie who decides that she will return to Hal's room because she can, surely, speak to Tom later of the matters which Weaver wishes to discuss with him in private.

"Tom…." Weaver sighs; he speaks as soon as it just the two of them.

"I know what you're thinking of saying, what you think that you have to say but you don't. Don't say it, Dan. You don't have to." Tom tells him; he speaks quickly and with a strained voice.

"Tom, you know I care for Hal. He's a good, brave man and a great solider." Weaver begins; he hesitates ever so briefly before he continues, "But you know in your heart just as I do that it could very well be a trap."

"It isn't." Tom answers quickly and without a second of doubt.

"We can't know for certain, Tom." Weaver says; he attempts to speak to Tom rationally so Tom may at least see the possibility of it being a trap. "We've lost too many men already." he adds, with a much lower tone.

"Dan. Listen to me, OK?" Tom begins; he walks towards Weaver as he continues, "Please, just listen. You trust me. You trusted me when they pulled the bug-"

"Tom…." Dan shakes his head, slightly. "That was different-" he tells him.

"How, Dan?!" Tom asks; he speaks as though that it is the most ridiculous thing that Dan has ever said. "It wasn't. It's not different. It's really not. Don't do this. OK? Hal is Hal." he adds; his tone is that of a more desperate one, now, as he is so desperate for Dan to believe him so that he will not hurt Hal or send him away.

"You didn't shoot two of your fellow fighters, Tom. Hal did." Weaver counters, quickly.

Tom shakes his head, several times, as he says, "It wasn't Hal, though."

"I know that!" Dan says; he speaks with a much louder tone as he continues, "We know that. But, we can't be sure that it's Hal, now….."

Tom hesitates before he asks, with such a grim tone, "What do you suggest that we do? Leave him behind to die?"

When all that Tom receives is silence, and no denial from Dan that he was considering allowing Hal to be left alone to die or to be killed, Tom takes a step away from Dan.

"You can't seriously be considering that, Dan!" Tom says; he cannot control himself from yelling as he continues, "He's MY son! Not yours. Not anyone else's. Hal is MY son. He's my boy. And you, you do NOT get to make that decision!"

"I'm not making any decisions, right now. You need to calm down, Tom." Weaver says; he raises his hands slightly in the air and lowers his voice so that Tom may possibly calm down. "You need to calm down, Tom." he repeats.

Dan's not entirely sure if he can remember seeing Tom as worked up, and so furious, in quite some time.

"You want to kill my son – How could I possibly calm down?!" Tom yells back, in response; the veins on his neck pulsate madly as he continues, "Tell me, Dan, how I could calm down?!"

"I don't want to kill him." Weaver announces, loudly; he says these words honestly because he does not want to kill Hal but he cannot truly be certain that Hal is who he once was and that he isn't leading the aliens directly towards them.

"If we leave him – He's dead, Dan." Tom says; he wants to lower his voice but he cannot and so he continues to yell these words at Weaver, "I don't think you understand that. I'm not leaving - No. Never. I'm never – I'm not letting him stay behind."

Weaver releases a very deep sigh before he runs his right hand up to his forehead and leaves it resting there. He asks, with a low voice, "What if it's a trap, Tom? What if it's not Hal-"

"You don't know that." Tom says; he cuts Weaver off without even considering the possibility that it could be a trap.

Weaver takes a slow step towards Tom before he says, so calmly, "And neither do you. Just consider for a moment the possibility that it's a trap-"

"If it's a trap, which I don't believe for a second that it is, then it was a pleasure fighting beside you, Dan. It really was. But I will not leave my son to a certain death on your theory that it's a trap, because it isn't." Tom says; he speaks so confidently as though he could not possibly be swayed to leave his son and he could not be convinced or pulled away from his son.

Tom will not leave Hal behind when he needs him so badly. He will protect Hal and remain by his side, always, because it is what Hal needs and it is all that Tom has truly ever wanted to do for his boys. It was what Tom swore he would do for his boys and he has failed so many times that he cannot fail again. He simply can't.

"I know my son. I know my boy. He's back, Dan." Tom tells him; despite that he appears so confident Tom cannot know for sure whether the old Hal is back.

Tom does believe that Hal is free from the bug, the Overlord, but he does not and is not sure he can ever truly believe that the old Hal is back.

Tom sighs, softly, before he says, "I'm not letting you or another god damn person here take him away from me."

* * *

The forest, despite that it is lit up in a soft almost yellow light, is not a peaceful or quiet place to Hal as he finds himself there entirely alone and deeply confused. As he stands there he does not truly feel as though he is there as he is completely frozen and finds himself unable to speak or move. Instead, he remains still and continues to stare out towards something in the distance that his eyes will not allow himself to see completely.

Despite that he did not wish to come here, for whatever reason remains unknown to him, he finds that he does not feel such pain here but instead he is simply exhausted. Then, all the thick green trees moist with the remains of the previous day's storm and all of the tall, dark looming trees begin to shift and it isn't a gradual shift but rather such a sudden one.

In only a matter of brief seconds everything has changed. The softness and the lightness that he had seen only seconds earlier is long gone and in its place a face that Hal cannot quite remember with a name he cannot find appears before him.

As it all shifts, again, Hal finds himself holding the man in place to prevent him from moving and he is keeping him ever so still with his left hand tightly wrapped around his neck. The man continues to struggle under Hal's grip and releases a muffled cry out despite that Hal's hand is firmly placed over his mouth.

Hal wakes, from the haunting scene that had played before his eyes, gasping for air as though he was drowning underneath a thick wave of water and was almost dead. His chest rises and falls so quickly that he's already worked himself up into a panicked state.

"Maggie…" Hal calls out; the call is not a soft nor desperate one as it was earlier but rather such a fearful and panicked call as though if he does not lay his eyes upon Maggie than he will be lost to the darkness for eternity.

"Hal, it's OK. You're OK." Tom says, softly, as he appears by his son's bedside. "I'm here. So are Maggie and Anne. You're OK." he adds; as he finishes speaking he smiles, sadly, down at Hal.

Hal's eyes flicker around the room as though he is entirely and completely unsure of how he came to be in such a place and why he is here. He continues to breathe heavily in and out as the muffled cry and the fear in the man's eyes continues to haunt his already plagued mind.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Anne asks; she steps towards him and smiles softly as she casts a very detailed look over his current state.

His forehead and chest are covered with beads of sweat, his hair is wet and dripping with it. He has, with time, become significantly paler and now holds a more sickly appearance than earlier.

"Matt…..Where's Matt?" Hal asks; a deep frown creases onto his features as he casts a very long and detailed look over the room.

"Hal, I need to check your wounds, OK?" Anne tells him.

Hal coughs several times to clear his throat but does not respond to Anne as he closes his eyes, yet again, in an attempt to return to the forest in which he had found himself in and make sense of what it was that he saw.

"No…." Hal answers simply; his eyes remain closed as he answers and as he speaks his breathing seems to slow down, but not significantly. "Matt." he adds.

"Hal, please….." Tom pleads, softly.

"I had bugs….." Hal mutters, lowly; still he does not open his eyes as he continues, "I heard…..Did I?"

He is asking his father for the truth, whether those men on the bus were speaking the truth about the bugs and if Pope was speaking the truth when he spoke of Hal having a 'bug-infested- eye.

Tom hesitates before he replies, "Hal, what you need, right now is treatment for your wounds…."

Hal lets out a small, unsteady sigh before he opens his eyes slowly and asks, "Matt. Where's Matt and Ben – and my wounds – from what...Who gave them to me?"

"That's not important." Tom says; he stops Hal before he can continue.

Hal continues, despite that Hal had not wanted him to, with a low voice, "Just tell me, Dad. Just tell me. Did I have bugs in my head? Oh, god…..I did- Maggie….." Hal stops; he lifts his gaze so slowly to look for Maggie.

He finds her standing down the very end of his bed; her arms are crossed around her chest, her face is straight and unreadable and she had, as he had looked up to her, appeared to be dazing off to somewhere else entirely.

Maggie hadn't, as she had stood silently in the room, been able to lift her eyes from Hal's chest where the parts of his body that weren't bandaged heavily and damaged were covered with thick, dark scars that would almost certainly never fade away.

"Maggie….." he repeats, softly.

She meets Hal's gaze now and smiles; the smile is filled with a soft mixture of sadness and love. It's not as though Maggie does not wish for Hal to know the truth because she does but she doesn't want the truth to break him because it has the potential to do so.

But, she does believe that Hal has a right to know what happened, in these past weeks, including with the bug and if he is to break after learning the truth she will be there by his side to stop him from breaking entirely.

"Maggie….." he says, again.

Hal knows that he can always count on Maggie for the truth and he knows this with absolute and complete certainty. They have such an incredible bond and while his memory does not serve him as well as it once did and while he may be weakened greatly he can remember how he felt – how he feels. How he once trusted her unquestionably. How he once loved her undoubtedly.

Maggie nods ever so slightly; this is enough for Hal to have his answer. Yes, he did have a bug in his mind. Hal knows this now and the thought of having such a thing inside of his mind is too overwhelming.

Hal had once told Maggie that he never wanted to change. He didn't want to allow the aliens to change him again like they had after they had harnessed him and done all that they had to him.

Hal believed, after he had been harnessed, that they could break and bruise his body but they could not break his mind or heart. He believed that he could heal from the physical wounds that they had forced upon him but he was not entirely sure now that he could heal from such things.

He had never wanted them to access his mind because he held so many memories and thoughts and it was those thoughts and memories which had always allowed Hal to see the light even in his darkest moments.

When they had strung his battered body up by sharp, silver hooks that had cut through him and caused him such incredible pain, he had thought of Maggie and of his brothers, his father and mother and those memories had been enough to get him through those excruciating hours that were to follow.

Now those thoughts and memories, his source of strength, hope and light were unreadable to him and as they slowly become more readable, more viewable, he was not entirely able to distinguish what was a memory, what was real and what was not.

Hal attempts to sit from the bed; his expression is that of such incredibly pain, fear and sadness. As Anne attempts to keep Hal from moving, without knowing that he has done so until he has done it, he pushes her hands away from him so that she will not attempt to help him because he is not deserving of her help.

He hasn't caused her any harm or pain and it certainly wasn't a strong shove. Hal would never intentionally want to cause another pain, unless it was one who truly deserved it, and knowing that he caused pain unknowingly and against his will is enough to cause him to snap or to break but he doesn't do either because he's already broken.

Hal is already far too beaten, and broken, to break any further, or so he believes. As Hal finally lifts his gaze he meets his father's whose expression is clearly that of a pained one. He does not know how he can help his son despite how badly he wants to do so.

And now, Hal knows the truth. He knows of the bug that was inside of his mind and controlling his every thought, movement and word.

"What did I – do….Tell me." Hal says; as he speaks he attempts to sit, yet again.

Instead of Anne rushing to his side to prevent him from sitting or attempting any sudden movements, Maggie moves.

She isn't entirely sure as to why Hal has only, after awakening, been calmed or comforted by her presence. She believes that if she is to move to his side and ask him to remain still, so that he won't cause himself any further pain, he may listen and stay still.

Seeing Hal the way he is now; weakened, confused, drained and so badly wounded pains Maggie so terribly when she thinks of who he was before everything

She can't allow herself to spend much, if any, time thinking of who Hal Mason was before this because thinking of who someone used to be while they are rapidly deteriorating before your eyes does not help. It does not bring any good to the situation; instead it only makes things painfully worse.

You continue on, as you know they would if your situations were reversed, because you must continue on without these thoughts because no good can come from them.

"Hal…" Maggie begins. "Don't try to move, OK? Not yet." she adds; she speaks to him softly with fear and pain in her voice but with absolutely no traces of the same sympathy that Anne and Tom hold.

The reason that Hal does not see sympathy in Maggie's eyes is not because she does feel sympathetic towards him, because she does, it's because she is able to hide this because she knows that Hal would never want her to look at him in such a way.

"OK." Hal mutters, lowly. "OK." he repeats; he speaks, still, with such a low tone that Maggie barely manages to hear him speak.

After looking down at Hal silently for a moment Anne turns towards Tom and suggests that they have a moment outside to speak, alone. Tom reluctantly agrees, as he does not wish to leave Hal at this current moment, and follows Anne outside and into the corridor.

She closes the door to Hal's room and takes a few steps away from it, with Tom by her side, until she decides upon speaking of such delicate yet pressing matters.

"Tom…." Anne begins, softly, and continues with a gentle tone, "I can't begin to understand how difficult it must be for you to-"

"See my son that way? Yes. It is, Anne. I don't – I just want him to get better." Tom admits; he lets out such a large sigh as he raises his hands to his forehead and runs them back over his hair and down to the back of his neck. "I just want him to get better." he repeats.

"I know you do, Tom." Anne says; she smiles softly, before she lifts her arm to Tom's right shoulder and gentle rests it there. "I know. That's all you want." she adds.

"Help me, Anne. Please. Help me to help him get better." Tom says; as he speaks he takes both of Anne's hands and repeats, "Please, help me get him better."

"I will, Tom." Anne nods, quickly; she speaks without a moment of hesitation because she will always try to help Hal and his brothers. "I'll do anything - I'm sorry but I think he needs to know, to get better." she tells him, honestly.

Tom hesitates before he asks, "Needs to know what?"

"The truth." Anne answers, simply, "All of it; everything he did, said….."

"No." Tom answers, firmly. "Not now." he adds.

"When I say he needs to know, I mean it. His physical condition is deteriorating. He refuses to eat, to drink. He won't allow me to tend to his wounds – and it's because he's mentally distressed, Tom. He doesn't have a clear memory of what he's done and he's distressed. He's tiring himself out mentally and I'm worried, Tom. I won't lie to you. If he continues the way he is, it's going to get much worse and it may not get better." Anne says; she speaks with such sadness but also such care towards Hal and his current situation.

As Tom and Anne enter the room they find Hal waiting, propped up against his pillows, for the two of them. What Hal needs is for his father to tell him the truth and all of it. Not a shadowed, untrue version of it.

"Hal, you need to eat." Tom says, simply, as he moves towards his son's bedside.

It's not as though he's really asking Hal to eat though but rather telling him that he must eat, that his body desperately needs it, so that he may heal.

"Tell me the truth, Dad. Then, I'll eat." Hal answers.

"Ok." Tom nods; he sounds desperate defeated as he continues, "There was a bug. The Overlord…."

Hal's breathing begins to, yet again, deepen significantly and despite his attempts to slow his breathing down he cannot. He feels as though his insides are turning and corroding; the confirmation of the bug, being the Overlord, is unbelievably hard to accept despite that it was the knowledge that Hal was seeking all along.

The expression on Hal's features shifts into that of an incredible pained and fearful one; he momentarily drops his gaze to his hands as he attempts to think of how such a thing could occur.

"We believe he was controlling you and that it was Karen….." Tom says; he answers the question that Hal had been yet to ask. "At the warehouse…." he begins but stops entirely.

"What did I do?" Hal asks, simply, as though it is the easiest question in the world and in return he should receive a simple answer.

"You shot Pope and Anthony. Ben….." Tom begins; he, however, falls silent as he does not wish to continue on and deepen his son's pain over all that he was unable to control.

Anne sighs, softly, before she speaks, "You wanted to shoot Lourdes, and I….And Maggie."

Hal attempts to remain unreadable, as he asks, "What else?"

"Hal….." Tom sighs, softly.

All that Tom wants, and needs, is for Hal to get better and he can't do so why refusing food and treatment for his wounds. He needs to get better and he will; Tom can't allow himself to doubt his son's recovery for a second because a second of doubt would cause Tom to break and he can't when Hal needs him so.

"There's more." Hal says; he's stating that there is more because he knows, somehow he knows, that there must be more.

"You led the mechs right to us." Tom admits. "Nobody died, Hal. No one died." he adds; he tells Hal this because he believes that it may give Hal some reassurance that he truly didn't do the horrible things that he believes that he did.

But the words fail to give Hal any form of reassurance; not even in the slightest way. They only lead Hal to wonder what else there is that he cannot remember and what else his father and all others are keeping from him.

Hal lifts his gaze, finally, to meet his father's as he says, "And….."

Tom hesitates and for a moment he remains completely silent. But he can't allow himself to sit in the silence forever because he is only prolonging Hal's treatment by not telling him what truly happened.

"You wanted me to kill you." Tom says; speaking finally with a low, defeated, tone that is clearly ringing with pain. "You forced me to put a gun to your head and then to your chest – to your heart….and you wanted me to kill you – But I wouldn't have done it. I wouldn't have, Hal. Never. I wouldn't have." Tom tells him; as he speaks the pain that he is feeling becomes stronger and clearer in his voice.

"Oh god…..I'm going-" Hal begins; but the last words never pass his lips.

Maggie, as if being able to sense what Hal was going to do after his inability to finish speaking, grabs a nearby bowl and places it underneath his mouth so that he may easily reach it.

He vomits three times into the bowl and then proceeds to dry retch several times. As he finishes vomiting, and dry retching, he coughs a few more times until Maggie assists him in swallowing a cool, small glass of water which Anne had passed to her.

"Hal…." Tom begins; he waits until Hal is seated more upright and does not appear as though he is going to vomit again as he says, "You need to eat, Hal. You haven't eaten in days. Your body-"

"Please, forgive me if I don't feel like a meal after learning that my brain was infested with crawlies….." Hal mutters, lowly; he does not even attempt to meet his father's gaze because he knows that it will be filled with hope that Hal cannot even attempt to meet.

Tom doesn't hesitate to, with a louder tone, reply, "I know your tired, Hal, and scared. But you need to eat or-"

"Or what? " Hal asks; he cuts over Tom, as he continues, "'I'm going to die?"

For a moment, Tom isn't entirely sure whether Hal is asking whether he is going to die, if he does not eat, or if he is stating that he believes that his death is inevitable.

"Yes, Hal. And I won't let that happen." Tom answers. "Please, Hal…." he continues, with a softer tone.

"I'm tired." Hal answers, simply; he sounds, as he speaks, as though he cannot possibly be convinced to eat something.

"OK. That's completely understandable, Hal. What I need you to do, before your rest, is to try to swallow something-" Anne begins; she speaks still with a soft and patient tone despite that Hal continues to refuse his food.

Hal does not hesitate to reply, "I'm not hungry."

Maggie speaks up, now; her voice is soft as she suggests, "Just a little bit?"

Hal meets her gaze, slowly, and after only looking into her eyes for such a brief second he drops his gaze and speaks.

"OK." he says.

"First, I want to check your wounds for any possible signs of infection. Then, I'll clean them and then, you'll try to eat for me?" Anne suggests; she smiles warmly at Hal as she begins to remove the bandages from underneath his collar bone.

"OK." he repeats; as he speaks Anne can see, what she had feared; there is absolutely no enthusiasm, no light and no fight for life in his eyes.

Aside from the colour which lifelessly swirls in them, his eyes are devoid of the light and hope that they once held.

"Dad…" Hal begins; he looks up to find his father still standing by his bedside.

"Yes, Hal?" Tom answers, quickly.

"Where's Matt?" Hal asks; a small fear fills Hal's inside as the possible scenarios in which he drove his brother away or harmed him play with his mind.

"Gone." Tom replies; he speaks the truth because for the time being Matt is gone. "He's in Charleston. We thought it'd be safer….."

Hal swallows tightly before he asks, "He's alone?"

"No." Tom shakes his head, sadly. "Not alone. He's with Benjamin, Pope's boy. And Joseph's boy-"

Hal frowns slightly before he asks, "Who is Joseph's boy?"

Tom does not respond as it was not his place to speak of Henry, to Hal, in the first place. It was Maggie's place to speak and he spoke for her. Tom lowers his head slowly before he looks towards where Maggie is standing.

She stays still, stiff and silent a few feet away from Hal's bed. She does not answer Hal either and so his question, in regards to Joseph, remains unanswered for now. Now, it would appear that Hal does not recall who Joseph was and who his son is.

"I need to treat Hal's wounds, alone. I need some room." Anne announces, softly. She continues, with a small glance back at Tom and Maggie, "When I'm done, you can come back in."

* * *

Tom leaves Maggie standing alone, outside of the door to Hal's room, so that he may go in search of Ben. There is still so much he needs to speak to Ben about, just as there is so much he needs to speak to Hal of. Tom has decided that while Anne tends to Hal he will find Ben and ensure that he is fine.

Only moments after Tom has left in search of Ben does Ben appear, walking down the corridor towards Maggie. He had been walking down this corridor in search of Isaac whom he had absolutely no luck finding upstairs or, so far, anywhere else in the library.

Maggie turns towards Ben and with such an incredibly unreadable expression she tells him, "Tom's looking for you."

"Is he?" Ben asks; he hesitates before he continues, "How is he?"

"Who, Tom?" Maggie replies; as she speaks she turns slowly to face Ben, with her arms remaining crossed as they previously were.

"Yeah, my Dad….Hal…?" Ben says; as he speaks he appears to shift somewhat uncomfortably.

"Tom's worried, for both of you. And Hal….." Maggie begins; she stops to release a deep but shaky sigh before she admits, "Not good."

"Uh….You haven't been, to see him, yet?" she asks; she asks this question only because she wishes to know what is preventing Ben from seeing his brother.

"I- I can't know. I have patrol." Ben replies, quickly; as he speaks he moves to step away but Maggie moves with him, preventing him from leaving just yet.

"Who do you have patrol with?" she asks him.

"Isaac." Ben answers.

"Why haven't you been to see your brother, Ben? He needs you." Maggie says; despite that she is so incredibly confident that Hal does need Ben, she speaks with a low tone so that Hal will not hear the two of them speaking.

Ben sighs, softly, before he answers lowly, "We don't know what he needs when we don't…."

"When we don't, what, Ben?" Maggie asks; she stops only for a moment until she continues, with a slightly louder tone, "We don't know who he is?"

As the question passes Maggie's lips how absurd that she truly believes it to be becomes clear in her voice and on the expression that falls on her features.

"Yep." Ben, eventually, answers.

"Hal Mason, son of Tom Mason and brother of Ben and Matt Mason, is an eighteen year old fighter in The Second Massachusetts resistance; just in case you forgot." Maggie tells him; she continues with a lower tone, "He is your brother, just as he always has been and always will be. You asked me to be there when he woke but you had no intention of doing so."

"He tried to kill me, Maggie." Ben sighs, softly, "Twice. I know that it wasn't him, OK? I do. It's just….It's hard to get my head around." he admits; he truly does want to help his brother but he finds it difficult to do such a thing when he cannot move past what his brother has done.

Not being able to be there by Hal's side, despite how badly he wants to be there, pains Ben badly. It brings such guilt and sadness onto him that he cannot help his brother as he is sure Hal would help him had their situations been reversed.

"Yeah, you know what?" Maggie begins; she takes a step closer to Ben and uncrosses her arms as she continues, "Life is hard. We have to pick ourselves up, fix our broken bones, wipe the blood away and keep moving. That's all that we can do."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reads my story. I cannot thank you enough. I really do appreciate each and every reader just as I am so thankful of everyone who follows/favourites and reviews. Thank you!**

**Dear Guest Reviewer; Jessica; posted on chapter 53:  
Hi there! I'm so very happy to read that you loved this chapter - Thank you for taking the time out of your day to not simply read my story but to also review it. Thank you so much! I do apologise for the delay in update, and I hope that you enjoy this one. Thanks so much for reading :)**

**Dear Guest Reviewer; Agus; Chaper 53:**  
**Hi! I'm so happy to read you liked this chapter. Yes! Eventually, Hal will be interrogated by Weaver. Yes, you are right there! Maggie still loves Hal and Hal still loves Maggie.**  
**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing :)**

**I apologise for the delay in updates. I hope you enjoy. I apologise for any grammatical errors that I hope aren't in here, but probably are.  
Thanks for reading.  
X**


	55. A heart no longer pure

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"I want – I don't want to be here, Anne, in here….." Hal mutters, lowly; as he speaks he looks up to see Anne finishing bandaging the wound on his knee.

She had tended to the wounds on the upper half of his body first as they were the ones which had caused Anne the most concern. The wounds on Hal's lower back, where the spikes once were, don't seem to be healing as they should and the wounds on his knee, shoulder and underneath his collarbone, are healing at such a slow pace but that is to be expected considering it was only days ago that he received the wounds.

Anne worries, greatly, for Hal because she cares for him so deeply. She worries so greatly for him because he isn't well. If Tom, Maggie or Ben were to return Anne would not have any good news to tell them. She couldn't tell them that Hal had improved physically because he hadn't and she couldn't speak to them of his mental condition because she wasn't qualified to speak of such things. But, from her observations, she believed that he was not well physically or mentally. But, he could get better.

They've lost many things in this world; things that they cannot get back and things they don't wish to get back. But, what they cannot lose and what they must always cling to is hope. It must stay with them always.

"I know, Hal. I know you're tired." Anne says, softly, and with a sad smile appearing on her features as she speaks. "But you're not well and you need to rest." she adds.

Hal hesitates before he speaks with such a low tone that Anne almost doesn't hear him. "I'm fine."

"You're fine?" Anne asks, unsure if that is indeed what Hal has just said.

Hal nods slowly but otherwise remains silent. He isn't fine. He isn't well at all. Hal knows that all too well. But he believes that there is a possibility that if he is to pretend as though he is fine then they may let him out of this room.

"Hal….." Anne begins; she releases a small sigh before she takes a seat down on the chair at Hal's bedside. After lifting her gaze to meet his she smiles sadly and says, "You once came to me to speak about your brother, Ben. And I told you to think of me as your doctor."

"Yeah…?" Hal replies.

"I'm your doctor now, Hal. Anything you want to tell me is confidential." Anne tells him.

A silence falls between them for a moment as Hal considers his words. When he finally speaks his gaze is lowered just as his tone is softer. "Nothing." he says.

There is nothing he wants to speak to Anne about. Nothing he can speak to her about that she would understand. There is nothing he can do to fix himself. There is nothing that anyone can do to fix this mess. Hal knows that there is almost nothing left of him.

Anne nods simply and with the smallest smile she assists Hal in eating a small meal before she leaves him to his rest. Perhaps, in the morning he may be better.

As Anne exits Hal's room she stops to find Maggie and Ben, deep in some sort of conversation, only a few feet away from Hal's door. She steps towards them and upon reaching them she tells them that they may see Hal now if they wish to but they must also allow him to rest.

"Are you going in, Ben?" Maggie asks, simply.

It isn't that Ben doesn't want to enter Hal's room, and see his brother, because he does. He so badly and desperately wants to see Hal and help him but he can't right now. He needs a little more time before he can do such a thing.

"Ben….." Maggie sighs, softly.

"I know. You think I'm selfish but I'm not. I'm staying away – I'm doing this for Hal. You just can't see it yet." Ben says; his tone is that of a low one as he speaks and as the last words leave his lips he turns and walks away from Maggie.

Maggie doesn't attempt to stop Ben because she doesn't wish to force him to do something that he doesn't want to. She doesn't believe that Ben is being selfish; she believes that he is scared of what Hal has become. Ben needs time that's all – They all need time; time to heal, to move on and to move past all of this.

Maggie re-enters Hal's room to find him resting with his eyes closed on his back; his wounds have been treated and his bandages have been changed with fresh, clean ones but still he does not look any better and this frightens Maggie greatly.

He should be looking better. He should be healing and the thought that Hal isn't healing but is dying terrifies Maggie. It is a thought that she will not allow herself to think of because she cannot think of such things.

"Ben?" Hal calls out, softly; after hearing footsteps he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes and so he had spoken hoping that his brother had come to see him.

"No." Maggie replies, simply.

Now, Hal's eyes open; his eyes almost dart around the room until they find Maggie. She stands closer towards the door, towards the exit, and Hal doesn't particularly like seeing her so very far away from him. He believes, momentarily, that she is standing so close to the door so that she may be able to leave at any moment that she wishes and never return.

"You need to rest, Hal…." Maggie adds; as she speaks she moves towards his bedside and by doing so she puts to rests Hal's silent fears that she will never return to him.

"Not you too…" he mutters, lowly; what he means is that he hopes Maggie will not, just as Anne and his Dad had tried, force him to rest.

Neither speak another word as Maggie continues moving towards his side; upon reaching it she takes a seat on the only chair inside the room.

"I can't." Hal admits, softly.

He lowers his gaze, momentarily, away from Maggie's before eventually looking back up into her eyes. Her brown eyes swirl with something that Hal is certain he has seen before but cannot quite remember what exactly it is.

"I-I-I'm suffocating in here, Maggie. I-I can't breathe." he adds; his tone is that of a deeply more distressed and desperate one as though he is desperately hoping that Maggie will allow him a way out or find him a place which he can seek solace and not find suffocation in its place.

Maggie is silent for only a moment before she sighs, softly, "Hal…."

"Help me, Maggie." Hal says; it's not as though he is asking for her help but rather pleading for it.

Maggie leans in a little closer to Hal, before she begins, "Hal, you're-"

"I'm dying, Maggie." he cuts her off, before she can finish.

Maggie was going to tell Hal that he isn't in the best state to be leaving the library but she could try her best to get him moved to another, less cluttered, room.

Maggie shakes her head as she replies, "No, you're not."

Despite how badly that she does not want to believe that Hal is dying, or that there is a possibility that he is dying, she cannot completely hide the doubt from her voice as she speaks.

"I'm not getting any better." Hal answers.

If he isn't dying, and he isn't getting any better, then Hal isn't entirely sure what is happening to his mind or to his body.

She holds his gaze as she replies, with more confidence, "You will in time."

"You don't know that." Hal retorts. "You can't possibly know that." he adds; his tone is that of such a defeated and low one as though there isn't a thing that Maggie could say that could convince him that she knows that he will get better.

"We'll get through this just like everything else." Maggie says; as the words pass her lips she cannot help but be reminded of _all_ of the many other occasions on which she or Hal have spoken words similar to that.

They used to believe that they could get through anything. Perhaps, that was a foolish thing for them to believe in because you can't always get through 'anything'.

Life becomes messy, damaged, broken and so do you and as a result of that you are weakened and so you truly cannot get through anything entirely as you were before.

"But – we – this isn't like everything else because I don't remember everything else. I don't- I don't…" Hal says; his voice had started out low and uncertain and continues that way as he speaks.

Hal releases such a large, deep breath of air before he closes his eyes and mutters something that Maggie doesn't hear but doesn't dare ask him to repeat; she so wants for him to rest so that he may heal and so that her fears, and his, may be put to rest and he will become the man that he once was.

With his eyes still closed, Hal's thoughts stop as he feels a cold, small object in the palm of his right hand. He'd believed that he'd felt soft fingertips turning his hand over but he hadn't been sure whether it had been real or something that his mind had concocted.

Hal's eyes open so very slowly to meet Maggie's gaze before he lowers them to his open palm. Resting in his open palm is a pendant; as soon as his eyes fall down on it he knows that he has seen it, held it and worn it, before. It takes him quite some time to remember what it is but soon enough a small fragment of the memory returns to him.

"Saint Jude…." Hal mutters, softly.

Maggie's left hand, which rests gently on Hal's palm, traces the pendant before she leaves it resting in his hand and looks up to meet Hal's almost entirely empty gaze.

"A wise man once told me…." she begins; she stops only briefly before continuing with the smallest, saddest smile, "That there is no such thing as a lost cause when there are people still willing to fight for it."

"You don't – I'm lost, Maggie." Hal says, lowly.

He speaks these words because he believes that they are true. He believes that he is so incredibly lost and too far gone that those around him, those who love him, should not waste their time with him and he would wish they didn't because he doesn't wish to cause them any more pain.

Maggie shakes her head once before she tells Hal, "I'm still fighting….And Tom, Ben, Anne….I-"

"There's something else, you need to see…." Maggie tells him; she hesitates before she takes her father's coin from her hand and places it into Hal's open palm.

Maggie presses her lips together before she stands from his side and steps towards the door. She stops, only briefly, to turn back and glance back at Hal. "You're not a lost cause." she tells him.

And with these words Maggie opens the door to Hal's room with no explanation as to why she is leaving and why she has not told Hal where it is she is going.

As Maggie moves, to step out of the room she stops and finds herself standing half out of the door-way face to face with Pope. Upon catching sight of each other they both wear a similar expression of deep confusion.

"Keep your gun holstered, Maggie-May." Pope mutters, lowly, with a slight frown. "Didn't come here to shoot him." he adds.

Maggie hesitates before she lowers her gaze to the wheelchair, which has been folded up so that it may be carried, in Pope's left arm. She looks back up to meet Pope's gaze and after casting a quick glance over his expression she finds that he looks exhausted.

"Step inside or step out. Either way let me in to see him." Pope says; his voice is that of a low one and as he finishes speaking he glances to his left and then to his right as though he is looking out for someone.

Maggie reluctantly takes a step backwards, inside the room, and allows Pope to step inside and close the door behind him.

"Marines convinced Weaver that a meeting of sorts should be set up with Mason Junior. They're coming for him as soon as the morning sun rises." Pope tells her; his voice is that of a low one still and as he speaks he glances up to see Hal resting with his eyes closed.

The frown which had already rested on Maggie's features deepens before she asks, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Don't look into it for any reason other than my current dislike of those boys is higher than that of your boy, over here. It's an interrogation where I can only assume they're going to rip into him, both figuratively and literally." Pope replies; his tone rises only slightly as he speaks to her. "Captain Daniel Weaver is _too_ proud to believe that these men, these soldiers, would do anything but the honourable thing. Weaver will not be present for most, if not all, of the interrogation." Pope adds; his voice shifts into that of a bitter one as he speaks of the Captain who put the idea into his son's head of going to Charleston and ultimately was the reason that he and Benjamin were separated.

Pope releases a low sigh as he glances up, again, at Hal to find him motionless. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest he'd believe him to be dead.

"Don't take this to mean that I like the boy, because I sure as hell don't." Pope says, quickly. He continues, with a louder tone, "He shot me. He was aiming for you. He got Anthony. He had freakin' bugs – should I continue? Look. I got patrol on the north side of the library all by my lonesome."

Maggie begins, "Aren't you paired with Tec-"

"I told Tector that you're on patrol with me." Pope replies, quickly.

Maggie doesn't hesitate to state, "He wouldn't believe-"

"Don't really care if he'd believe it or not. Now, what you've got yourself is a getaway." Pope tells her; he finally lowers his gaze to meet Maggie's and waits for her response.

"Getaway?" she asks; the frown still remains resting on her face.

"Right before morning comes you wheel him out of here." Pope tells her. "There's an exit. Go down the hallway and take a left and then a right. Keep going straight until you reach it." he adds.

"Why are you doing this?" Maggie asks, almost suspiciously.

"I can give you an hour before they set out an' find you. There's a shack of sorts, some sort of gazebo, a lake – I could give you two hours but it's unlikely." he tells her; he speaks quickly and still with a lowered tone, avoiding her question entirely.

Still holding his gaze, Maggie repeats, "Why are you doing this?"

"Don't ask why and don't ask why not." Pope tells her. He continues, "Say your thanks, take the chair, and get him the hell outta here as soon as I come past. I'll tap on the door."

Maggie releases a small sigh before she takes the chair, and says, "Pope….."

"Ask me why once more…." Pope begins. "And you can forget this conversation ever happened." he adds.

Pope does not particularly like Hal Mason or any Mason for that matter and while he would never admit it to himself, or to any other soul, he does not dislike them so badly as he once did.

Maggie nods once before she says, "OK."

"OK." Pope nods, once. He glances once more at Maggie before he asks, "You sure – it's him? He isn't leading us to the-"

"It's Hal." Maggie tells him, without any doubt.

Pope mutters something that Maggie doesn't attempt to hear because she's almost certain that it would be something insulting or rude in regards to Hal or Tom Mason and she knows he would only be saying such things to make up for this surprising act of kindness, if that's what you can even call it.

Now that Maggie thinks of it, it really isn't an act of kindness. It's simply a Pope thing to do. Maggie believes that perhaps it is Pope's way of 'making' up for almost killing Hal on the med bus.

For whatever reason Pope has done such a thing, Maggie will stop questioning. Instead, she will be silently thankful and both she and Pope will continue on as though such a thing never occurred and in the morning she will set Hal free from the suffocation that has swallowed him entirely.

* * *

Ben had found Isaac towards the back of the library grounds; as he had come across him he'd found Isaac standing and staring up into the lonely stars of the night.

He was standing so still as though he was reliving a memory, a thought or a conversation. Upon hearing Ben's footsteps on the ground Isaac had thanked Ben for joining him on patrol and had suggested they get on with it.

"It's a relief, you know…." Isaac begins. "Speedy little thing like Mag- Margaret. Always running off without me." he says.

As he thinks of his past patrols with Maggie he is then led to his past conversations with her. The words from their last conversation replay painful in his mind as he is aware that he severed whatever possibility they could have had at being friends.

Despite that Maggie had denied that they were friends, he saw her as a friend. He'd wanted to apologise for how he had been in the forest and how he had sent her away but he certainly didn't believe that now was the appropriate time to be doing such things when she had more pressing matters to be worried and concerned over.

"Uh…." Isaac pauses; he clears his throat before he asks, "How's Margaret doing?"

Ben remains silent for quite some time because he is truly uncertain of how Maggie is doing and how he should respond to such question. Isaac does not push Ben for an answer but rather continues on with the patrol as though the question was never asked.

Finally, Ben speaks. His voice is lower as he says, "She's not good."

"And your brother, Hal….How is he?" Isaac asks, finally; he turns towards Ben and can see with the light of the moonlight that such a question causes Ben unease and so Isaac apologizes, immediately. "My apologies, Ben….Not my place to be asking such things." he adds, with a significantly lower tone.

And as the words pass Isaac's lips he can almost hear Logan's words in his mind taunting him. His words about how Isaac is not to make friends because of all that has happened in the past.

"Nah….I don't know how he is. I just…." Ben begins but comes to a stop.

He takes in a deep breath of air before he says, "He tied me to the tree. If you hadn't found me I'd probably be harnessed again or under some control…And I just…It's hard. I can't look at him the same. I can't – I thought that I could handle it…..I don't know….."

Ben finally looks up to meet Isaac's gaze, and admits, "It's happened before."

"What has?" Isaac asks, with a lower tone.

Ben tells him, "We've lost Hal and then we've gotten him back and before…It was hard. But this time…."

Isaac tilts his head slightly to the side as he questions, "You want to be there for him but you can't because it's harder?"

"Yep…" Ben nods.

"You just do whatever you need to….." Isaac begins; he pauses as he presses his lips together and raises his right hand to his head. He runs his right hand over his head and down to the back of his neck before he continues, "What I'm trying to say here, Ben, is that if by distancing yourself from your brother you're able to be closer to him in the future then you should do it."

"Ah...Thanks." Ben mutters, lowly, with the tiniest beginnings of a smile on his face.

Isaac nods simply, before he questions, "Hal's your older brother, right?"

"Right." Ben replies.

"And then, there's the other Mason – Matt. Younger?" he queries; the two begin walking, again, towards the area they are patrolling.

"Right." Ben answers, again. He says, simply, " And you, you've just got Logan. He's older."

"Yeah." Isaac replies, a little quickly, before he asks, "So, what, you must be sixteen, seventeen at the least-"

Ben shakes his head as he tells Isaac, "Fifteen. Turn sixteen in a couple of months."

A small smile appears on Isaac's face as he asks, "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Ben answers, simply.

"What are they giving the kids these days? Making them shoot right outta the ground." Isaac mutters, lowly; however it was not Ben's height that caused Isaac to believe that he was older than fifteen but rather his maturity.

"Don't worry, old man, I can still keep up with you." Ben adds; the grin reappears on his face as he speaks and as the words pass his lips he turns towards Isaac.

Isaac feigns a look of shock as he asks, "Old man?"

"Yeah…" Ben begins; he pauses before he asks, "You're at least double my age, right?"

"Oh, Ben….." Isaac sighs loudly; the look of shock on his features is replaced by one of offense as he continues, "You've offended me on so many levels."

Ben, while still smiling, says, "Come on, I'm joking."

"Many, many levels." Isaac repeats. "I'm not double your age. I'm twenty four. You know –" Isaac says but stops for a moment. He continues, with a grin, "You just go back to playing with your play-doh or something preschool boy, let us men handle the work."

"Sure, but you know, Isaac…." Ben begins; he continues, still with a teasing smile, "Whenever your back or knee starts playing up or your vision starts going call me around and I'll take the shift for you."

Isaac, who had been walking by Ben's side throughout their conversation, stops abruptly and all and any traces of a smile disappear from his face and his expression changes into that of such a serious one.

Ben stops walking moments after Isaac does and turns to him with a look of slight confusion on his features.

Isaac frowns ever so slightly as he asks, "What?"

"I'm joking." Ben tells him, with only a hint of a smile. "Just joking, Isaac." he repeats.

"Keep talking about how old I am…." Isaac begins. "And I'm gonna have to show you how I can beat you in an arm wrestle any day of the week." he adds, with a smile back on his face.

Ben grins as he replies, "Alright, Isaac, keep telling yourself that."

* * *

Anne enters the room that she and Tom share to find Tom resting on the edge of their bed with his head in his hands. They have yet to spend a night in this room together though as neither has slept in quite some time.

As the sound of the door opening and footsteps entering alerts Tom that he is not alone anymore he looks upon with hope that it may be Ben entering the room. Instead, he finds Anne standing before him looking just as exhausted as he feels.

"Did you find Ben?" Anne asks, softly; as she speaks she takes a step towards Tom's side and joins him.

"No." Tom replies, as he turns towards Anne who is now seated before him. "I heard that he has patrol. Dai told me." he adds, with a lower tone. "How's Hal?" he asks, finally.

"Hopefully he's resting now." Anne tells him, softly. She pauses before she says, "Tom…..I'm sorry."

He looks up to meet Anne's gaze again before he asks her, "Sorry, for what?"

Anne lets out a small sigh before she continues, "Telling Hal…."

"You were right. You were. You always are right." Tom begins; he lifts his hands to his head and runs them over his forehead and down his cheeks before he says, "He needed to know. He did. But….."

"He's going to heal in time, Tom. He always does." Anne tells him, reassuringly, as she takes his hands with hers and holds them tightly.

Tom closes his eyes and releases a long sigh before he says, "What if he doesn't?"

The question is so simple and yet the answer to it is far from simple. If Hal doesn't heal they will lose him and there is nothing simple about that. Tom cannot lose Hal just as he cannot allow Ben and Matt to lose his brother or Maggie to lose Hal. He doesn't know exactly what Maggie and Hal are but he knows that Hal has and always will mean a great deal to her and he doesn't wish for her to lose him.

They cannot lose Hal because without him they would not be complete. They would be consumed and drowned in emptiness that even with time they couldn't escape. They cannot lose Hal because they love him so.

"We just need to give him time, Tom…I'm going to help him. I will. I'll help you get him back, OK?" Anne tells him; she speaks with such confidence, love and reassurance that Tom does believe her words.

He does believe that Anne can help him to get his son back because she has always helped him and she always will just as he will always help her however he can.

"I-I….What did I do to deserve you, hm?" Tom asks; his smile is that of such a sad one as he leans towards Anne and rests his head against hers.

"I think I'm the lucky one." Anne tells him; she means that she believes she is truly lucky to be with a man such as Tom.

A good, pure-hearted, strong, brave man who constantly puts his life on the line for others with absolutely no regard as to whether he may be injured or killed in the process. He is a man who cares more about his sons than his own life and would do absolutely anything for them.

"I'm sorry, Anne….I'm sorry…" Tom whispers.

Anne had considered, for a moment asking Tom what it was he was sorry for but she knows, even if he doesn't say it, because she knows him so very well as though he is a part of her and she of him.

Tom is apologizing for how he has been, and how he has treated her, in these past days. He is apologizing for his attempt to distance himself from her when he should have been trying to move closer to her and allow her to comfort him.

"I know. And it's okay, Tom, it's going to be okay." Anne whispers; while still holding his hands with her left hand she lifts her right to his cheek and allows it to rest there.

"I love you, Anne." Tom whispers, softly; he continues with a lower tone, "I do. And I can't lose you."

It's not as though Tom is telling Anne that he can't lose her but rather pleading that she don't leave him because he needs her so and can't lose her.

Anne replies, softly, with absolutely no hesitation, "You won't lose me, Tom."

"I can't." Tom repeats.

Anne tells him, gently, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"I only want to protect you and Hal – my boys. That's all I want. It's all I've ever wanted." Tom tells her; as he speaks his voice rises slightly and his expression changes into that of a pained one.

Anne knows, so well, how badly Tom wants to protect his boys. It is all that he has ever wanted and all that he will ever want and she knows how he feels when he is unable to protect them completely as he wishes to.

"I know, Tom. I do." Anne nods; her hand remains on his cheek as she whispers, "And you are protecting them."

Tom shakes his head once as he tells her, "I'm not doing a good job."

"You're doing all that you can, Tom." Anne tells him, quickly. "And that's what counts." she adds.

"I won't let anything hurt them again. I can't-" Tom begins; he falls silent however as he fears what the future may bring his sons.

"I know, Tom." Anne nods, once.

"I just…I've failed them, Anne." Tom admits; he sounds so incredibly defeated and sad as he continues, "I know that I have. I can't deny that fact. I can't pretend that it's not true. But I can't fail you. I can't fail someone else."

Anne releases a small, soft sigh before she begins, "You-"

"I know what I've done and what I haven't done." Tom says, speaking before Anne can protest and attempt to convince him that he hasn't failed his boys when he knows in his heart that he has in some way failed them.

Tom continues, with a louder tone, "I failed my boys. They aren't safe. They aren't happy or well…"

"They will be, in time." Anne says, speaking finally. "It's not how it used to be with our kids…..We can't protect them as well as we used to but we can try our hardest." Anne adds; her tone is still that of a loving one but it shifts into a slightly sadder one.

"I'm trying my hardest but…It's not good enough. It's never been good enough." Tom says, softly, as he closes his eyes and allows another breath of air to pass his lips.

Anne, who will always fight him on this, says, "It is...Your boys are alive, Tom. They're all still alive. They're fighters, just like you are, you know that. They're alive and that's what matters, isn't it? They'll get better, Tom. They will. They have you – You're not going to stop until they're better, until they're safe, are you?"

Tom reopens his eyes so slowly to meet Anne's gaze. As he speaks, his voice is so vulnerable and soft, "No."

"Trust me, Tom." Anne says, simply.

"I do." Tom replies, quickly and without hesitation because he does trust Anne so very much. "It's just….I...Am exhausted, Anne….." he admits. "I can't…..I'm defeated. I'm almost done. And I know I can't give up because I have to keep going for them. And I will keep going. It's so much harder..." he tells her; as he speaks the vulnerability still remains in his voice and spreads on to the expression on his features.

"I know it is, Tom." Anne replies, she smooths her thumb over his cheek as she says, "Everything has been so hard on you, and your boys, I know. They love you, so much, and I love you too. You have us, okay? We can help each other. I promise you, Tom, that we'll make it through this together."

* * *

Maggie had remained on her seat by Hal's bedside as he had tried to let sleep take him and eventually it had but it hadn't come easily and she was certain that his dreams would not be peaceful despite that she wished for them to be.

She would not sleep tonight or on the nights to come because she couldn't allow herself to do such a thing. She would not allow herself to fall to sleep and to wake to find Hal gone or to find that something had happened to him.

As she sat by his side, her eyes had moved over each and every part of him that was not covered by the white bed sheet of the blanket. The blanket had been pulled up, by Anne, to Hal's upper chest revealing the thick bandages that were covering the wounds on his body. Maggie couldn't allow herself to often think of Hal's wounds because the feelings that accompanied such thoughts caused her a pain that she didn't wish to feel and so she wouldn't.

She could almost believe, as Hal was sleeping, that he was resting peacefully beside her. But he hadn't truly rested in peace in quite some time and Maggie secretly feared that it would be quite some time before peace would find him again.

She believed that she was not destined for peace in this life. She had considered for quite some time that perhaps she and Hal could find a peace together. Now, she was uncertain that either of them would find peace again and if they were she was even more uncertain if they would find that peace together.

All that they can do, together, is take it one day at a time because you cannot know with certainty what tomorrow holds. Maggie cannot know with certainty what tomorrow holds for the two of them or what the days, and weeks, after that will hold.

As Maggie lowers her eyes down towards the Saint Jude pendant resting still in Hal's palm, beside her father's coin which also still rests in his palm, she leans forward and removes the pendant from his hands. She will place it back into his hand when she has finished; she only wishes to hold it for a moment and attempt to find some sort of hope.

Hal stirs in his sleep; he turns as though he may lie on the left side of his body but quickly moves so that he is lying on his back.

"Hal?" Maggie calls out, softly.

His eyes flutter quickly before opening entirely. It takes him quite some time to meet Maggie's gaze and as he does his expression is that of an almost unreadable one but it isn't entirely unreadable to Maggie because she knows Hal so well, as though she has known him his entire life.

His expression is that of a pained one but also an extremely disorientated one as though he has absolutely no idea as to how he came to be here.

"Maggie?" he asks; a deep frown forms on his face as he looks up at her.

Maggie puts the pendant down onto her chair as she stands from it and moves so that she is sitting on the edge of Hal's bed. As she casts a very quick but detailed look over Hal she finds that his upper chest and face are covered with beads of sweat.

Quickly, she pulls the blanket away from his stomach as she believes he may be sweating so because he is too hot. She finds that his stomach is also covered with droplets of sweat.

"Why are you here?" Hal asks Maggie; he sounds so utterly confused as he attempts to sit up in bed.

The pain that moves through his body as he attempts such a simple movement is unbearable. He breathes in tightly as a grimace appears on his face.

"I'm taking care of you, Hal." Maggie tells him, simply.

She stands from his bedside and moves quickly towards the bowl of water and cloth which Anne had left in the room. As she returns to his side she places the bowl down on her lap and dips the corner of the cloth in.

With the cloth damp, she begins to wipe away the sweat from his forehead and despite that it would seem such an easy task to do it isn't because Hal is resisting her help. Instead, he is attempting to sit up from the bed which he should not be doing while in such a state.

Maggie cannot fight the memory returns to her as she performs this simple task. She remembers, various times, caring for her younger brother when he was sick. She cannot fight the memories that haunt her; the memories of him.

"Don't do it. Don't do it." Hal mutters, lowly, as he tries to sit up again.

"Hal, Hal it's okay." Maggie says, softly, as she still tries to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

She pulls herself out of these memories as she cannot be thinking of such things now. She must focus entirely on Hal and assisting him so that he may become well again.

"Why are…" he begins but falls silent, yet again, as his breathing deepens and he continues these failing attempts at movement.

"You're not well, Hal." Maggie tells him, with a softer tone.

As though it has just dawned on him that it is Maggie here with him, Hal mutters, slowly, "You're here."

"Yes. I'm right here." she replies, quickly, while still holding his gaze.

"No." Hal says, loudly. He continues with a louder tone, "You…. You shouldn't…."

Maggie frowns ever so slightly before she asks, "I shouldn't what, Hal?"

Hal closes his eyes as he tries to physically pull away from Maggie. He says, in such a low tone, "Be with me."

Maggie answers with no hesitation whatsoever, "I'm with you, Hal."

"You shouldn't be." he tells her.

Maggie knows now what Hal means, what he had been trying to say. He meant to say, "You shouldn't be with me."

She ignores Hal's words because she knows that he does not mean them and she does not believe he knows what he is saying at the moment. She lifts the damp cloth to his chest and begins to wipe away the sweat.

"You're not well, Hal." Maggie tells him. "You need to let me take care of you." she adds, with a softer tone as she continues to wipe at his chest.

A small, almost involuntary, groan passes Hal's lips as he is unable to contain how much physical pain that he is in. His eyes stay tightly closed as he attempts to find a memory that may bring him some distraction from the pain or may give him the strength to fight the pain.

Despite how badly Hal longs to find such a memory he does not. Instead, he finds only more pain and more darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Hi. Sorry for the delay in updating this chapter things have been busy.  
Thanks to everyone who reads/reviews/favourites or followers my story.  
****I apologise in advance for any grammatical errors.**

**Enjoy.**


	56. Unknown illusions clouding your eyes

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

"Hal?" Maggie calls out; she drops the bowl carelessly to the ground as she moves so that she is on the bed beside Hal.

She attempts to wake Hal from whatever it is he has fallen so helplessly into but he won't respond. He won't open his eyes. He still continues to breathe but he won't wake.

"Hal?" Maggie calls out, with more desperation and fear ringing through her voice.

Hal's breathing deepens greatly and he continues to keep his eyes closed as he still attempts to fight the monster of pain that wishes to tear his insides apart and gnaw on them until there is not a single shred of him left.

"Maggie?" A voice calls out from behind Maggie.

She doesn't hear the voice because all that she can see, in this moment, is Hal and so she continues on with her failed attempts in getting Hal to respond to her.

"Maggie?" Ben calls out, again.

He had just finished up patrol with Isaac and had been in search of his father when he had heard, as he had passed Hal's room, Maggie calling out with a panicked tone to Hal.

Maggie quickly turns around to find Ben standing, with a slightly cautious expression on his features, in the doorway of their room. The sound of Ben's voice, for some reason, seems to register to Hal and it causes his eyes to open so very slowly. He stops moving but rather lies so very still as though if he moves again his brother may go away and never return.

"Ben? Is Ben here?" Hal asks; he speaks as though he isn't entirely sure who it is he is speaking to.

As he looks towards Maggie he can see, in his mind, a young boy standing frightened and on the verge of crying in the woods. The frown deepens on Hal's features as he attempts to reach out to the boy, to stop him from leaving, so that he may save him from what he knows is to come.

What Hal is unaware of, what he has yet to realise, is that he is not holding on tothe young boy's wrists but on to Maggie's wrists. He grips her wrists tightly as he calls out to the boy whose name he does not know; he pleads with him to stay so that he may save him.

"I can save you. I can. I can. Don't leave me." Hal mutters, lowly; his grip tightens with each word that passes his lips.

"Hal…..I'm not leaving. I'm not." Maggie tells him.

When he does not respond, Maggie whispers, "I'm right here. I'm here, Hal."

Those words register in Hal's mind and, quickly, the forest and the boy disappear and Hal comes to see what it is he is doing and what he has done. He recoils away from Maggie as though he feels that by simply touching her he has poisoned her. His hand falls back down to his side, to where they had previously rested, and he lies back with his head against his pillow unable to move or speak and only able to stare back into Maggie's eyes.

"I can't….." he mutters, lowly, as his eyes briefly close.

Maggie turns towards Ben who had insisted that, when Hal had held her tightly by the wrists, he free her from Hal's grip but Maggie had refused. She had replied so very quickly and with such confidence that Ben wasn't to do a thing but to allow her to handle the situation because she could handle it.

"We should get Doctor Glass or Lourdes." Ben says.

As Maggie stands from Hal's bed-side she takes a step away from him and turns slowly to face Ben. He stands before her with a deeply confused expression on his features. Maggie notes how Ben looks just as exhausted as Hal and Tom do. He looks as exhausted as Maggie feels.

"We can't leave him." she replies, quickly.

"You go, then." Ben tells her. "I'll stay here." he adds.

"Or….You can go and I'll stay here with him." Maggie suggests.

Ben doesn't hesitate to reply, "If he – What he just did to you….We don't know-"

"He won't do it again. He didn't mean it." Maggie says; she speaks with such a voice so that only Ben will hear her words.

"He could." Ben tells her. "And if he did while I was gone-"

Maggie doesn't hesitate to say, "I'm capable of protecting myself, Ben."

"I know." Ben answers; he continues with a lower tone, "But with Hal it's different."

Maggie shifts slightly and looks as though she is about to protest against Ben's words but before she can speak he does.

"It's different and you know it." Ben says, simply and softly. He continues with a lower tone, "Just….Let me stay with him. I'm stronger than you are."

Upon noticing the change in Maggie's expression at Ben's statement that he is stronger than she is, Ben adds, "Right now. With Hal…"

Maggie's expression remains completely emotionless as she says, "OK."

With the quickest glance back at Hal, Maggie moves away from Ben, and Hal, and moves towards the door. As she steps through it she closes the door behind her and leaves in search of Lourdes or Anne.

As he turns slightly onto his side, Hal calls out, "Maggie?"

"It's Ben." Ben replies, after a moment of silent hesitation.

Hal's eyes flutter open slowly now as he looks for his brother. He cannot believe that Ben is here and so he calls out, before he sets his sights upon him, "Ben?"

As Hal lowers his gaze onto his brother, standing still in the middle of the room, Hal says, "Ben? You're here?"

He sounds so desperate and disbelieving as though he cannot possibly believe that his brother, Ben, is here with him.

"Yep." Ben replies, simply.

Hal, who attempts to sit upwards, calls out, "Come here. Why – Why are you – You weren't…."

Hal ceases trying to move as he notes that Ben remains where he stands in the middle of the room. "You weren't here before." he states. "Come here, Ben. Please. You're here." Hal adds

Ben, who remains silent, steps with caution towards his brother's side. He moves so that he is standing a few feet away from Hal. Ben knows now as he looks down upon his brother that his fears were right; his fears, that it would be so incredibly hard for him to see Hal as the brother that he once was, have come true.

"You're here. Now…" Hal begins; he pauses as he presses his dry lips together in an attempt to stop another groan from passing his lips. "You didn't come?" he asks, finally.

Perhaps, if he is to pretend that the pain does not exist then it will cease to consume him entirely and he will not feel a thing.

Ben replies, with such a low tone, "Maggie's gone to get help."

Hal answers, "No."

"You need help." Ben tells him; despite that he cannot look at his brother the same Ben continues to feel so badly for Hal and longs to see him get well again but in life you do not always get all that you long for.

Hal answers, adamantly, "No, I don't."

"You really do." Ben replies, quickly.

"You're wrong, Ben." Hal tells him, with a louder tone. "I need you and Matt – Maggie and Dad. That's what I need." he adds, with a softer but still pained expression.

As Hal notes Ben's coldness, and how he appears to be stiff and emotionless towards him, he speaks. "What?" he asks.

The vulnerability that Hal is feeling echoes through his voice and is clear for Ben to hear. It causes Ben such great pain to see his brother in such a state.

Hal frowns ever so slightly before he continues, "What did I do – I hurt you. I know. Your neck….Your wrists….."

"You didn't know what you were doing." Ben says; he speaks before Hal can finish.

Ben believes that Hal is not to blame for what was done to him, what the Espheni did to him. He does not blame Hal for his cuts and bruises or the pain that accompanies them because he knows that his brother would never do such a thing to him but it is difficult for Ben to see Hal as the brother that he once was because right now the brother he was is gone.

In his disappearance he has left a shadow of his former self whom Ben so badly wants to help but finds it so difficult to move past all that he has done.

Hal nods, once, as he says, "I didn't."

"I know." Ben agrees, softly.

Hal remains silent for only a brief moment as he considers his next words and as he speaks next his voice is lower, "Is that why you stayed away?"

Ben hesitates before he answers, "I didn't stay away."

"I haven't seen you." Hal says, simply.

When Hal receives silence to his words, and his confusion, he says, "Ben?"

"Maggie's getting help, Hal." Ben tells him quickly changing the subject. Ben begins, with a louder tone, "I'm just-"

"What did I do to you?" Hal asks; as he speaks he attempts to stand from his bed.

Hal refuses to allow himself to give in to the pain or weakness that consumes him as he attempts such a simple movement as standing from his bed.

"Nothing." Ben replies, quickly; he moves towards Hal's side as he says, "You shouldn't be moving."

"I hurt you-" Hal begins but stops, quickly, as another groan passes his lips. He closes his eyes as he tries to move his legs towards the side of the bed. "I deserve everything that I get and more." he adds.

Ben begins, softly, "Hal, you shouldn't-"

"I want to sit. I want to sit up, Ben." Hal tells him; he speaks with such desperation in his voice that Ben cannot refuse his brother's wish even if he had wanted to.

"I didn't….I don't…." Hal mutters, softly, as Ben kneels down by the side of his bed and assists him in moving his legs towards the side of the bed.

He moves Hal's legs so that they are resting on the floor, at the side of the bed. Then, Ben helps Hal's body to move so that he is sitting on the side of his bed.

As he is helping Hal to move he cannot ignore, and will never forget, the groans and muffled sounds which pass Hal's lips as he is moved into such a position.

Ben does not want to think of how much his brother must be suffering as these thoughts are so powerful that they would surely send Ben mad.

"Dad told me….." Hal admits, weakly; as he reopens his eyes he uses his left hand to grip onto the side of the bed so that he may continue to sit as he is. "He told me everything." he adds.

Now, Hal slowly lifts his head so that he may be able to look directly into his brother's eyes which he finds to be heavily guarded and unreadable.

Ben asks, with a slight frown, "Everything?"

"The bug…." Hal begins; he looks as though he is going to be physically ill as he continues, "The gun…Shooting….I didn't – I didn't….He's keeping something. He always does."

"He's not." Ben says, a little too quickly for Hal to believe.

"I know it." Hal answers. With a louder voice he continues, "I know that he is. There's something missing."

Hal pauses as he is, again, overcome with such pain throughout his body that he isn't truly able to determine where the source of pain is coming from as it is too overwhelming.

"You're here." Hal whispers, so softly that Ben only manages to catch the words. "Ben. When – You're here." he adds; he speaks as though it is only now that he has noticed his brother's presence beside him.

"Yes, Hal." Ben replies.

Hal's words only continue to cause Ben further pain and worry just as seeing him in this weakened, pained, slightly delirious state causes him such concern for his older brother whom he once believed was invincible.

Hal holds his brother's gaze as he begins, "I didn't want to….."

"I know." Ben answers; he knows what Hal will say before the words pass his lips.

Hal didn't want such a thing to happen. He didn't want to hurt his brother or anyone else. He never wanted to do the things that he has done. But those things have already been done and unfortunately there is no way that they can be taken back or changed; all that can be done is to leave them as they are and live with them.

"Why did you stay away?" Hal asks; he continues with a louder tone, "Why didn't you come?"

Ben begins, "I did-"

"You didn't!" Hal cuts him off. His voice rises much louder than he'd intended it to as he continues, "You didn't come! You weren't here!"

"I'm sorry…." Ben sighs, softly.

Hal continues, despite Ben's apology, "You're sorry for-for distance…. When we got you, I came. I was there."

"That was different." Ben tells him.

Hal shakes his head as he replies, "It's not that different, Ben."

"It is. Only you can't see it." Ben answers; as he speaks he considers standing from the bed and leaving Hal but he cannot leave his brother in such a state and so he decides against leaving Hal until help has arrived.

"I can't see anything, Ben! There is so much I can't see!" Hal admits; he sounds so incredibly helpless and desperate as he speaks as though he is so blinded and lost by these thoughts and memories which he cannot see and those he cannot remember ever having.

"I couldn't come. OK?" Ben replies; he doesn't believe that now is the best time for Hal to learn of what he has done and he wishes that such a time will never come because it would destroy his brother even more, if possible.

"Because I hurt you?" Hal asks, with a much sadder and regretful voice.

"No." Ben replies with no hesitation whatsoever.

Hal begins, softly, "I would have come…"

"I know." Ben agrees.

"If it were you." Hal adds.

"I'm sorry, Hal." Ben says, so very softly. "I'm sorry." he repeats.

Hal's expression shifts into that of such a sad and defeated one, as he says, "You didn't come."

Ben begins, "I told you-"

"Stop it, Ben." Hal says, quickly speaking over Ben so that he is unable to finish speaking.

Ben frowns ever so slightly before he pauses, and then asks, "Stop what-"

"Treating me like a child." Hal replies, quickly, and with a slightly louder tone. "Like I can't handle whatever I have done. I can handle it, Ben." he tells him.

"Can you?" Ben asks him; his eyes flicker down to Hal's hands which he notes are clenched tightly into fists.

"Stop treating me like Dad is." Hal tells him. "Like-" he begins but falls silent as Ben speaks.

"Like what?" he asks. "You're fragile and you might break?" Ben suggests.

"Yes. And I'm not." Hal answers, with a significantly lower tone.

Ben begins, softly, "You're-"

"What?" Hal asks.

"Nothing." Ben answers, simply.

"I know." Hal agrees.

For a moment Ben is unsure of what it is that Hal claims that he 'knows' and then it dawns upon him. What Hal means, what Ben had previously been unsure of but now knows with certainty what his brother meant, is that he is nothing. Hal believes that he is nothing.

Hal pulls Ben out of his thoughts as he says, "I'm your brother, Ben."

"I know." Ben nods.

"I always…." Hal pauses before he states. "You owe it to me."

Ben queries, "I owe it to you?"

"Yes." Hal agrees, simply.

Ben shakes his head as he says, with a tone filled with more anger than he'd intended it to, "I don't owe it to you."

Ben's voice is filled with anger, not towards Hal, towards the Espheni and what it forced his brother to do and what Hal will always live with. He's angry because he was unable to save his brother and he should have because that's what brother's do.

"Damn it, Ben. Just tell me." Hal says, clearly becoming more worked up by the second.

Ben shakes his head as he stands from the bed. Without hesitation he says, "There's nothing to tell."

Hal says, so loudly that the words ring in Ben's ears, "I can see it in your eyes. On your face – I know you, Ben-"

"But I don't know you, right now." Ben replies, just as loudly.

These words spoken by Ben, in this moment, will never be forgotten by Hal. His own brother does not know him. His own brother, his blood, has come to fear him and hate him and disgust him so and Hal will never forget such a thing and he will never forgive all that he has done to his family and all that he has failed to do for them.

"I know what I've done." Hal admits. He continues, with a lower tone, "Everything-"

Ben releases a very deep sigh before he says, "You don't know everything."

And these words pass his lips before he can stop them or take them back and he so wishes that he hadn't spoken them to Hal.

"What don't I know?" Hal asks. The frown reappears on Hal's features as he repeats, "Ben, what don't I know?"

As he receives silence yet again, Hal continues, with a much louder tone, "Tell me! Tell me why you look physically sick to be around me. Tell me why you didn't come. Tell me why you hate me-"

"You took a life." Ben answers, quickly.

Hal does not seem all too troubled by this news or surprised and this worries Ben greatly as he cannot believe his brother to be reacting with absolutely no emotion towards the news that he had taken a human life.

"The skitter…." Hal begins but pauses as hears Ben speak.

"I'm not talking about the skitter." Ben says; and again the words have passed his lips before he had been able to stop them and it had almost been as though he had absolutely no control over them.

They words were gone now and there was absolutely nothing that Ben could ever do to take them back or keep them from Hal.

Hal's expression contorts into that of an expression of great agony and pain. He lowers his eyes to the floor and does not appear to speak or move, or even breathe, for a moment as he allows the words to sink into his mind and attempts to recover the memory of what he has done. He wishes that it isn't true. He pleads with his mind not to find the memory. He begs himself not to relieve it.

But he does. He can see him; it takes a moment for Hal to put a name to a face but as he remembers it he relives the memory as though it was only seconds earlier.

He hears himself taunting Billy; he sees his hands holding him tightly by the neck so that he is unable to move and unable to scream out for help. Then, he sees something that he will never be able to forget for as long as he shall live and even then it will surely haunt him to his death and beyond that.

He sees his hands tightening around Billy's neck and then his hands, his hands that will forever be stained with the blood of others and his own blood, twist Billy's neck so unnaturally and with such force that it snaps and kills him instantly.

Ben, who had been watching his brother, calls out, "Hal….."

Hal takes in such a deep, choked breathes of air as he looks up to meet Ben's gaze. "Oh….." Hal begins; he tries to stop himself from what happens next but he has no control and cannot stop it.

"Billy….." Hal sobs, through choked breaths.

He lowers his head down slightly as his body begins to heave in and out. He feels as though he is gasping for air and that if he does not receive the air he will drown and the thought of drowning, the thought of not waking up to this horrible haunting that he has fallen into, does not scare Hal as much as it should.

"Oh, god…I-I." Hal mutters; he continues to take in long, choked breaths of air that don't fulfil his desire for air at all. "I-I-I didn't …I didn't….I-I-…." he pauses again as he looks around the room for a bowl, a bucket of sorts.

Ben, knowing somehow what was to come, moves towards a bowl resting on a table to the side of him. But Hal, who hadn't known that Ben was getting him a bowl, moves to stand from his bed and collapses down onto the ground as he is not physically strong enough to be standing let alone walking by himself.

He hits the ground forcefully but it does not cause Hal the pain that it should because he does not feel such little pain in comparison to what his entire body aches with.

Ben is kneeling beside his brother's body before Hal notices that he is there; his head rests on the ground beside his arms and he stays there until Ben attempts to help him get up from the floor. Ben slowly assists Hal so that he may be kneeling – and this is where Hal stops him. Hal gags as though he is about to be sick and so Ben gets the bowl and places it before Hal.

He vomits in the bowl continuously until there is nothing inside of him to bring up but blood. Hal then proceeds to dry retch several more times and as he does this Ben feels so incredibly helpless as all that he can do in such a situation is hold the bowl for his brother.

When Hal has finished after quite some time he chokes back another, much louder, sob before he coughs loudly.

Ben, who had been kneeling beside Hal, moves the bowl far away and then returns to his brother's side. Hal had remained still and unmoving, kneeling on his injured legs, while Ben had quickly disappeared from his side. He had wanted to move from such a position at first as it was causing him such insufferable pain but he'd quickly changed his mind as he believes that he deserves this pain.

Ben cannot help but notice his brother's body as he kneels beside him; it is the thinness of his brother's body that frightens Ben. It is the fact that he can count the ribs easily and clearly view his collar bones. But this is not all that frightens Ben and pains him greatly. It is seeing Hal in such a state; half of his lower back is covered with thick and slightly bloodied bandages while the other half is either covered with spikes or with scars that are new to Ben's eyes.

Ben quickly, but carefully, takes in each and every scar on his brother's back so careful as to not forget it and forget the pain that his brother felt because he cannot forget such a thing.

As he returns to his side Ben lifts Hal's left arm and puts it over his own shoulder and then slowly begins to lift him from the ground.

Such painful and low groans of pain pass Hal's lips as Ben helps him; he does not force Hal to stand but rather lifts him so that he is sitting on the edge of the bed. Just as Ben prepares to assist Hal so that he may lie down on the bed, Hal stops him.

Hal lifts his left hand to Ben's arm, just below his elbow. He does this to stop Ben from helping him back on to his bed because Hal does not believe that he is deserving of his brother's, or anyone else's, help after all that he has done.

"Would-Would you do something, for me?" Hal asks, softly; he holds his brother's gaze as he continues to hold his hand, which is shaking slightly, to Ben's arm.

"Hal, you need to-" Ben begins; he begins to say that he needs to rest so that he will get better but Hal doesn't want to hear it.

"You need to do this for me, Ben, please?" Hal pleads, with a quieter voice.

"OK." Ben agrees, somewhat reluctantly.

"I want-I want you to stop it." Hal tells him, softly.

Ben frowns ever so slightly before he asks, "Stop what?"

"Me." Hal replies with absolutely no hesitation.

"I don't – I'm not sure that I understand, Hal." Ben says, with a much softer and sadder tone.

Ben continues to look down at Hal as he continues speaking with a much sadder but softer tone.

"I want you to stop this, Ben. Please. You can. You can stop it." Hal says; his voice is just above a whisper as he speaks almost pleading with Ben to stop this.

But Ben doesn't understand entirely what it is that Hal wishes for him to stop. He continues to look down silently at his brother as he waits for an explanation.

"Kill me." Hal says, simply; he speaks as though it is the easiest and most reasonable suggestion considering the circumstances.

A deeper frown falls onto Ben's face as he asks, with a strained and slightly panicked voice, "What?"

"You heard me." Hal replies, quickly.

Ben shakes his head and with an expression of shock on his face, Ben answers, "No."

"I want to, Ben. I don't want to live like this. I can't. I can't." Hal begins; he talks so quickly that Ben only just manages to hear his words. He says, with a slower and softer voice, "Ben, I'm at peace with it. I shouldn't- I'm not-…"

"I'm not." Ben says loudly as he takes a slow and hesitant step away from his brother.

Hal holds Ben's gaze as he says, simply, "I want you to do it."

"Do you hear yourself, Hal?" Ben asks; he speaks with such frustration in his voice but also anger and this frustration and anger is not directed towards Hal but rather towards the Espheni who has left his brother in such a state and has caused him to consider such things. "Do you – Can you hear yourself?" Ben repeats.

Hal sighs, so very softly, as he takes in a longer, deeper breath of air. He pauses before he admits, "I can't live like this."

"You're my brother, Hal." Ben states. "You're my older brother." he adds.

Hal nods, quickly, as he replies with a sad tone, "I know."

"You're supposed to be looking out for me, not asking me to – do you hear yourself?" Ben asks; he cannot truly believe what Hal has asked him to do. "What about Dad?" Ben asks; he continues to speak with a much louder tone, "Or Matt? Have you thought about them? What about Maggie?"

"Oh, Matt…" Hal sighs, loudly; he closes his eyes so slowly as he whispers, "I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't mean it. I didn't. I didn't mean it. Ben…."

"You're supposed to be the strong one, Hal." Ben tells him.

These words cause Hal to reopen his eyes immediately. He meets his brother's gaze with a mirrored expression of sadness in his eyes.

"You're supposed to – We're brothers." Ben says, with a louder tone. "Brothers don't do what you're asking. They shouldn't – Brothers are supposed to grow up and live long lives together. We're supposed to live our lives together; You, Matt, Dad and I. It's us. And you – You're asking- I can't…."

Hal begins, softly, "Ben….."

Hal looks as though he is going to speak but the words do not pass his lips as the door to his room is quickly pushed open. Maggie steps through it first with Lourdes right by her side. Maggie glances so quickly at Ben before she moves towards Hal's side.

Upon reaching him she stops walking and stares down at him as though she has seen something that has caused her such pain. There is blood slowly trickling down the side of his right hand.

"What's he doing up?" Maggie asks, Ben, without turning towards him.

"I'm right here." Hal tells her, simply, as he slowly closes his eyes.

"I know, Hal." she replies.

"Hi Hal," Lourdes says, softly, as she begins to pile together all that she will need to tend to Hal. "How are you feeling?" she asks.

Maggie, who had kneeled down beside Hal, moves towards his right hand which is still clenched in a fist. Hal's eyes flutter open again as he feels Maggie's touch on his hand; he stares down at his hand as though he is unsure of why it is clenched and why there is blood slowly trickling down the edge of it.

Carefully, Maggie unclenches Hal's fist and opens his hand to find that the cause of the blood is a coin. Her father's coin that she gave to Hal as a birthday present rests in his bloodied palm. He must have squeezed it in his palm so tightly and with such force that it cut into his palm causing his skin to break and bleed.

Hal meets Maggie's unreadable gaze with a dark expression that she cannot read entirely. He does not speak and he does not fight her as she removes the coin from his palm and stands so that Lourdes may be able to tend to him.

After removing his bandages and viewing each of the wounds individually, Lourdes cleans them carefully and thoroughly and then re-bandages the wounds tightly with clean bandages.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Lourdes asks, again, hoping this time that she may receive an answer from Hal.

She looks up towards Hal who now rests on his back as Lourdes finishes tending to the cut on his palm. She finds that his eyes are closed tightly and his breathing has slowed down greatly.

"Hal?" she repeats.

"Ok." he tells her, speaking softly.

"Your leg, how is it feeling?" she asks him.

Hal repeats, "Ok."

"Ok. I'm just… I'm going to step over here for a minute, okay? Prepare some food." Lourdes tells him; she looks up at Hal again to find that he remains as he was, with his eyes closed.

She does not push him for an answer and instead stands from his bed and moves towards the bowl of food which she had instructed Ben to get. And Ben had listened. He had left to get the food and as he had returned with it he'd given the bowl to Maggie and left with absolutely no explanation as to why he was leaving so suddenly and what had happened in his and Hal's conversation before they had arrived.

"I've given him some stronger pain medication…" Lourdes begins; as she stops before Maggie she continues with a softer tone, "It should subdue the pain, for now, but if it gets worse again don't hesitate to come and find me, Maggie. I'll stop by regularly though, to check in on him."

"Ah….Are there any signs of infection?" Maggie asks.

Lourdes pauses before she replies, honestly, "Yes, Maggie. In his lower back….Anne has him on treatment for that and it should heal. What Hal needs is to eat, to drink some water, and then he needs to sleep. He needs to rest his body."

"I can get him to do that." Maggie replies; her voice is that of such an impassive one that Lourdes does not catch a single trace of emotion in it.

"OK, good." Lourdes replies, with a soft smile. "He'll get better, Maggie. He's strong. Hal's a fighter. Don't give up hope." she adds; with those last words spoken softly so that only Maggie may hear, Lourdes steps out of the room leaving Maggie and Hal to their silence which they have with time become so accustomed to.

* * *

Isaac, who had briefly been speaking to Ronald at the front of the library, turns around at the sound of the front doors opening. Much to his surprise he turns around to see Ben moving quickly out of the doors and towards the side of the building. He looks paler than earlier and not well at all. Isaac excuses himself from his conversation with Ronald and follows Ben as he makes his way to the back of the hospital.

He comes around the corner to find Ben kneeling over on the ground as though he might be sick.

"Ben." Isaac begins; he rushes towards him and kneels down by his side. "Are you OK? Do you want me to get help?" he asks.

Ben shakes his head as he lifts it slowly off of the ground; his face is paler as he looks up to meet Isaac's gaze. "No, I don't – No." he mutters.

"You're sick." Isaac says; he isn't really asking if Ben is sick but rather stating that he's sick and he must get help. "You need a doctor, Ben." he adds.

Ben begins, with such a low voice, "No, it's not. I'm not sick. I can't – I'm…."

He pauses as he takes in a long, deep, cool breath of air which soothes his insides and to some extent calms him. He continues, with a slightly louder voice, "I'm alright, I'm alright."

"Are you going to be sick?" Isaac asks; his expression is that of a concerned one as he continues to watch Ben carefully.

Ben shakes his head as he replies, "No. I'm alright. I just – I need to sit."

"Okay, come up." Isaac begins; he readjusts his gun so that it is strapped to his body and so that he may use both of his hands to assist Ben in standing. "Up we go." he continues; as he speaks he places his left hand underneath Ben's left shoulder and his right hand on his back.

Carefully, Isaac slowly helps Ben stand from the ground and once he is standing he assists him in moving towards a fallen tree log only a few feet to the left of them so that Ben may sit.

"Almost there." Isaac tells him, with a lower tone.

"I'm alright." Ben repeats, lowly, as he and Isaac reach the seat.

Ben lowers himself down, without Isaac's help, on to the tree log and closes his eyes for a moment as he continues to attempt to calm himself down and stop his mind from swirling with bloodied thoughts of his brother.

"I've got something…." Isaac begins; he reaches into his jacket pockets and pulls out a thick flask. "Water. Here you go." he says; he takes a seat down beside Ben and extends the bottle to him.

Ben slowly takes it and presses the bottle to his lips but he cannot swallow any of the water as his breathing is still too heavy to do such a thing.

"You've just go to slow your breathing down, alright?" Isaac tells him, with a softer tone. "Slow it right down, Ben." he says.

Ben nods, quickly, as he answers, "Ok. Alright, I-I'm trying. I am."

"Hmm…A distraction….Distraction…." Isaac pauses; for a brief moment he stays silent as he attempts to find some sort of distraction so that Ben may think of anything else but his current sickness.

With a slightly lowered tone, Isaac asks, "If we weren't here – I mean, if the aliens hadn't come, where would you want to be?"

Ben does not hesitate to reply, "At home."

If none of this had happened, if the aliens had never come, and if there had been no such thing as aliens then Ben would be at home. He and his brothers, his father and mother would be at home. And they would have been happy. He and Hal probably would have been fighting. His mother would have been the peacemaker as usual.

Hal would have been teaching Matt about all kinds of sports. Ben would have helped Matt with his maths and taught him whatever he could. They all would have been in school still. Tom would be trying to teach his three boys as much history as possible. His parents would be in love still. They all would have been so happy.

But you can't spend too much time thinking about what if or what you would be doing if something never happened because those thoughts are so incredibly powerful and they have the potential to turn you mad or to send you to the deepest, darkest corner filled with such regret and sadness that you cannot easily return from it.

"Reading….Maths – I don't know. I really don't." Ben replies; he speaks so quickly as though he does not want to speak or think of what he would be doing if he were at home. "What would you be doing?" Ben asks, quickly changing the subject. "Would you still be in the Marine Corps?" he adds.

"Yes, I would." Isaac replies. He pauses before he queries, "What were your plans, after school?"

"It's going to sound really lame….." Ben admits, before he lets out a deeper sigh.

"That's unlikely, Ben." Isaac says, with no hesitation whatsoever.

Ben hesitates before he says, "I think…. I wanted to be a professor."

"Really, like your Dad?" Isaac asks; he wears an expression that indicates that he is impressed by what Ben has just admitted to him and he is impressed by it.

"Kind of…A little history, maybe, because my Dad was always hoping one of us would do something with it. You know, he was always trying to force it onto us." Ben tells him; a small smile appears on his pale features as he remembers how enthusiastic his Dad always was about history. He continues with a lower voice, "Maths, mainly, or something with computers. I wasn't sure." he adds.

"That's not lame, Ben." Isaac tells him. "Professors are very cool, very smart." he adds.

"So, uh, you always wanted to be in the Marines? I mean, did you always know it was what you wanted to do, before all of this happened?" Ben asks; he has yet to notice but his breathing has slowed down significantly since he has been distracted by his conversation with Isaac.

Isaac says, with the smallest beginnings of a smile on his face, "Ever since I was a young boy I've enjoyed helping people. I've always wanted to do that."

"And being a Marine-" Ben begins but pauses as Isaac speaks.

"Well…" Isaac begins; stopping only to let out a small sigh he continues, "When your great-grandfather, grand-father, father and brothers are all military men, it's what you aspire to be too. It's in my blood, I suppose."

A small frown flickers on Ben's features. He hesitates before he asks, 'Brothers? I thought it was just Logan?"

"Look at that." Isaac announces. "Your breathing has slowed down completely, hasn't it?" he asks; as he speaks he stands from the log and looks down at Ben with a smile. "Well, uh…mmm…If you're sick, again, go see the doctor." he tells him.

Ben, who still continues to wear the same deep and confused frown, begins, "Isaac, I'm-"

"I've got to go, Ben." Isaac says, still wearing the same unconvincing smile.

"Ah… Yeah, it's alright. Thanks for the water." Ben replies, quickly, still watching Isaac with a slight uncertainty.

"You, uh…." Isaac begins, as he takes a step away from Ben. "You get better, now, I need my temporary replacement for patrol tomorrow." he tells him; as he speaks he continues stepping away from Ben.

Ben nods, once, as he answers, simply, "I will."

As Ben sits silently and alone on the fallen tree log at the side of the library he cannot help but think of how alone he believes he is. His thoughts are not only filled with these ideas of loneliness but also with loss. All in this new world have lost something or someone. You cannot have made it through this war without a single loss.

He wonders what his life would be like if things weren't as they were, and if he were at home. He thinks of what their lives could have been like together and then he comes to the realization of what their lives are truly like.

In this war, in this world, there are few who can count themselves to be lucky. If you lose someone for quite some time but you find a way to get them back, you're lucky. But sometimes you're not lucky because you'll lose someone forever and despite how badly you long for them to return and how hard you will fight with each and every part of your body, heart and soul you can't get them back.

You long to be with them, always, and you wish so badly to return to that place in your memory that you are with them but you can't.

And despite that you know in your heart that they are gone you don't give in entirely to the despair instead you cling on to the hope, the possibility, that one day soon you may meet again.

* * *

**A/N: Hi there. Firstly, I apologise in the lateness of this update. I'll try to update chapters sooner.  
I also apologise for any grammatical errors you may find, although I hope there are none as I've thoroughly checked the chapter for them. **

**Thank you to everyone who reads my story, reviews, favourites and follows. I'm so grateful and I doubt I'll ever be able to thank you enough or convey to you how much it means to me.**

_**Dear guest reviewer, Victoria; chapter 55;  
Thank you so much! :) I'm so very happy that you're loving every bit of my story. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm so grateful. I'm sorry for the late update. I hope that you enjoy it.**_

**I also wanted to apologise that there isn't much Hal/Maggie in this chapter BUT I do promise a few chapters focused solely on Hal/Maggie coming up, as well as eventual Mason family bonding.**

**I had an idea I wanted to run by you guys. It's for this story - I'll explain it first.  
So, when the day comes that I finish this story (it won't be for a very, very, very long time. Trust me. I've got loads in store and plenty of ideas for this story) but when that day comes I was thinking of starting a new story on here, a falling skies one, and it would be a continuation of this one except it would be set a couple years in the future. Kind of like a flash forward. I was just wondering if you would be interested in reading that, in the far future?  
Anyway, just let me know your thoughts.**

**Thanks for reading. Enjoy.**


	57. Shattered shards of a beautiful heart

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

A sound which Hal had, as he had remained in his dreaming state, first mistaken as firecrackers in the sky had quickly woken him from his uneasy and unpleasant sleep and once he had woken he had found that he was entirely alone in an almost completely dark room but the door, which had been left wide open, allowed a small crack of light to shine through on to the floor.

The sounds which he had imagined as firecrackers were not. They were something far more sinister; something far more deadly. Now, he could hear each of the sounds for what they truly were. The first sound that Hal heard was the firing of guns, several guns, and the next sound was a far more frightening one which sent the ground almost shaking and had caused Hal to try to take cover as he feared the ceiling would collapse in.

They were bombs from the alien ships, Hal thought, because he didn't have any other explanation as he'd craned his neck towards the window and had found the sky alight with flames. Such a sight had caused Hal to feel such pain and fear for his family who would certainly be caught in the battle, or in the fire, and he believed that they would need his help or any help that they could get.

Hal does not take a moment to prepare his body for the pain that will accompany a movement so simple as standing because he does not have the time. His family, and the Second Mass fighters, don't have the time. They could need Hal outside. And while he may not be as physically well or strong as he once was he can still fight and he will continue to fight for his family, for The Second Mass and for earth, until his dying breath.

He pulls himself upwards so that he is sitting and does not hesitate to slide his body towards the side of his bed. Hal grits his teeth together as his hands slowly grip the edge of his bed and he steadies his body before he attempts to stand.

His legs are far weaker than he had expected that they would be and he stumbles forward. If it weren't for the chair beside him, which he grabs on to as it comes into his reach, he would collapse entirely. Hal steadies himself and takes in several, deep breaths of air to attempt to find a distraction from the surging pain that moves through his body with each breath that passes through his body and each move that he makes.

A grimace appears on Hal's features as he staggers towards the door. He moves slowly and stops once or twice as he slowly becomes used to moving again. As Hal reaches the door and steps through it he finds a spot of blood staining the floor. The sight of the blood, smeared over the pale wooden floor, causes Hal to feel such worry as he finds no body so he cannot possibly know who the blood belongs to.

"Maggie?" Hal calls out, loudly.

As he gazes back down upon the pool of blood Hal forgets all of his previous thoughts of pain and so he does not allow himself to acknowledge this pain as he moves down the corridor at a quicker pace. He needs to find his family, and the fighters, so that he may join them in the fight and ensure their safety.

As he moves down the corridor and nears the doors, which will lead him towards the main room of the library, the gunfire becomes much louder and Hal knows that he will, in seconds, be stepping out into an unknown battle with no weapons or protection whatsoever but such a thought does not scare Hal because he needs to find his family. He has to protect them from this.

He doesn't understand why he was left in his room and why he was not woken at the first signs of trouble. He could still be of help. He can fire a gun. Hal's left hand slowly grips the door handle and as he does a small sigh passes his lips. He presses his lips together before he quickly pushes open the door and steps out into the main room of the library.

As he moves out of the doorway he finds himself standing before the end of a rifle, held by his father. Tom pauses before he lowers the weapon entirely and pulls Hal into a tight embrace. "Hal…." he sighs; he sounds so terribly relieved to have Hal here.

As Tom breaks the embrace and takes a slight step back from him, Hal finds that his father is injured. His left cheek is cut, badly, and bleeding.

"Dad…." Hal begins; he cannot find the words as his eyes continue to move over his father.

He finds that Tom is bleeding from a deep hole to his upper chest, and shoulder, and that his left arm appears to also be cut badly as the sleeve of his jacket is soaked with blood.

"You're hurt." Hal whispers.

He lowers his eyes towards his Dad's leg where he finds that his upper thigh has been tightly wrapped with a cloth.

"I know, Hal." Tom begins. He pulls out a small gun, from his pocket, and passes it to Hal. "But we can't stop, Hal. We can't stop."

"Dad, you're bleeding- I – from everywhere, Dad." Hal says; he sounds so frightened as he speaks because he is so frightened of the state that he has found his father in.

"We were ambushed, Hal. We don't have time. You – You need to go." Tom tells him.

"I'm not leaving you." Hal says, firmly, because he cannot leave his father in such a state.

"Ben's outside, Hal… He's outside. I can't – I have to stay in here, Hal. But you, you need to find Ben, okay?" Tom says; as he speaks his eyes flicker over all entrances and exits in the room so to make sure no Skitters or other aliens step through.

"I'm – I won't leave you." Hal replies, quickly.

Tom tells Hal, quickly, "Anne's coming soon, okay, Hal? She's going to help me, okay. I have to stay in here, Hal. You need - go and find Ben."

"Okay. Okay." Hal begins; as he speaks he slowly steps towards the door. "I'll go, just….Be careful, Dad." he says; as he speaks he turns back and glances at Tom.

"You too, Hal." Tom answers, softly.

Hal steps through the front doors of the library to find a skitter moving quickly towards him. He fires at it several times until it's body falls dead onto the ground. He glances down at it briefly before he looks up outside. The sky continues to be lit up with a mixture of red and black flames which have completely engulfed the sky.

He turns to his left to find Tector, Dai and Pope firing continuously at a group of skitters which have just appeared. They have to move, quickly, so that they are not bombed by the returning ship of the aliens.

"Ben?" Hal calls out, loudly; with his gun still in his hands he moves slowly past the body of the skitter, and away from Dai, Pope and Tector, hoping that he will find Ben around this corner.

"Ben?!" he yells out; his voice is much louder, now, and filled with much more pain and fear as he continues limping slowly through the bodies of the dead skitters.

Hal abruptly stops walking as he comes to view the body of one of the fighters. Hal kneels down to his side as he recognises the man as being Isaac Hatchet, the youngest of the Marines, lying crumpled on the ground covered in blood.

"Isaac?" Hal calls out; as he speaks he lowers himself down beside Isaac.

Isaac eyes remain closed and he does not move or respond to Hal's words. He does not appear to breathe, either. As Hal presses his fingers against Isaac's throat in search of a pulse he fails to find one. Hal's eyes flicker down to Isaac's right leg, the main source of the blood, and he knows now that his femoral artery must have been hit causing him to bleed out in a matter of seconds.

Hal takes in a deep, sharp breath as he slowly backs away from the body. He stands up as quickly as he can as he calls out, "Ben?!"

Hal needs to find his brother. He needs to protect Ben and keep him safe and once he has found Ben, Hal will then find Maggie and he will protect her as he has always wanted to.

As Hal slowly turns the corner of the library he finds Ben but as he does he almost wishes he hadn't because he comes to view a sight which he had always feared that one day he would see.

He finds Ben, standing bloodied and covered with ash, leaning down over a body. He is unable to see the figures face that Ben is leaning down over but he knows who it is by their shoes. The combat boots belong to Maggie.

"Maggie?" Hal calls out; the words pass his lips before his mind registers that it is her.

Ben glances up, from where he had leaned over Maggie, towards Hal and he meets his brother's gaze with a frightened and saddened expression on his features.

"She's hurt, Hal." Ben says; as he speaks he steps away from Maggie so that Hal may see her clearly.

Hal's eyes flicker down to Maggie who he finds is half laying against the brick wall of the library. He first notices the position in which she is in; he finds her lying, collapsed and crumpled over, on the ground in an almost unnatural position with her head resting against the brick wall. Then, his eyes refocus onto her and all that he can see is the blood which stains her and covers her entirely.

"You okay, Ben?" Hal asks; as he speaks he quickly moves towards his brother.

"Yep." Ben replies, quickly.

"Go." Hal tells him. "Go get Dad and Anne. Ben, go." Hal says; he speaks with such a panicked and rushed tone as he steps before Ben.

"I'm sorry, Hal. I'm sorry." Ben says; as he speaks he begins moving away from Hal and towards where he may find Anne.

What it is that Ben is apologising for Hal is uncertain but he does not believe that his brother owes him any form of apology.

"It's okay, Ben. It's okay." Hal answers, quickly.

Hal moves so quickly towards Maggie that he is kneeling beside her in seconds. His eyes move over her as he is able to take in each of her wounds more closely and carefully now.

"It's okay." Hal whispers, to Maggie.

As the words pass his lips Maggie's eyes slowly flutter open. It takes her a moment to set her gaze down to Hal but when she does the relief and safety which she feels upon seeing him is clear in her voice.

"Hal…." she sighs, softly. "Hal, you-You're here." she whispers.

"I'm here." Hal answers, softly.

His eyes move from the gash on her forehead, which has caused a crimson red to trickle down her pale face, to the cut on her right cheek. But he does not spend much time looking at these wounds as they do not cause him as much worry as the wounds on her stomach. His eyes move towards her lower stomach which he finds is bleeding continuously.

"Oh, god…." Hal mutters; as he speaks he glances down towards her right thigh, which he finds is profusely and dangerously bleeding, before he looks down towards her knee which he finds is also bleeding just as badly.

"Oh, Maggie." he whispers; he chokes back a sob as he continues, "Maggie, oh….no."

He lifts his gaze upwards, and past the wound on Maggie's right shoulder, so that he may look into her eyes. As he does he finds that she is already watching him. He finds that her eyes, their beautiful shade of brown, are duller than he remembers them ever being.

"They got me, Hal." she says; her voice is so very low and vulnerable as she speaks. "Those damn skitters." she adds.

"I know." Hal answers; his voice is barely above a whisper as he speaks and these are the only words that he finds that he can say right now.

Maggie draws in a sharp, long breath through her pale lips and closes her eyes as she does. She asks, with her eyes still closed, "How bad is it?"

Hal has absolutely no idea how he can answer such a question. He cannot truly believe what has happened. While he had been resting Maggie had been suffering such pain and losing so much blood – she had lost too much blood.

"Hal?" Maggie whispers.

She speaks when she does not receive an answer from Hal. When all that she receives is silence she opens her eyes to find Hal simply looking at her.

"Hal?" she asks, again.

He presses his lips together tightly as he moves a little closer towards her. "It's not…." he begins; he pauses for a brief second before he quickly continues, "It's not bad, Maggie. It's not bad. It's not."

A small, sad smile appears on Maggie's features as she takes in another, deeper breath. The smile slowly turns into that of a grimace as she reaches out, with her right hand, for Hal's hand. Her takes her bloodied hand with both of his and holds it tightly and reassuringly. In the moments when the pain worsens and almost becomes unbearable Maggie's grip on Hal's hand tightens.

Maggie says, with a softer tone, "I'm dying, Hal."

"No." Hal replies, quickly. He shakes his head as he says, "No, you're not. You're not."

"Let me – Let me help." he tells her; as he speaks he quickly removes his camouflage jacket from his body.

He pauses before he reaches, gently, into the inside of Maggie's boot and then pulls out her trusty pocket knife.

"I'm bleeding out, Hal." Maggie whispers; as she finishes speaking she coughs loudly, several times, causing her body such great pain as she does.

"No." Hal says, quickly; as he speaks he begins to cut his jacket into long shreds which he may use to tie around her wounds and keep the pressure on them.

"You're not bleeding out, Maggie." Hal tells her.

He moves towards her knee first and tightly ties a shred of his jacket around it. Then, he tears a thicker, longer piece of his jacket and gently wraps it around her right thigh. As he tries to do this the blood, which flows relentlessly out of the wound, trickles up his hands and his wrists. He has to use another shred of his jacket to tie the wound, firmly. The shreds of his jacket, keeping pressure on her wounds, will only do for now. They will have to do until help comes or until he carries her inside.

The pain, and fear, in Maggie's voice is clear as she admits, "I don't want to die, Hal."

Hal lifts his head up, quickly, from where he had been finishing tending to her right thigh. Hal shakes his head, slowly, before he answers, "You're not."

He pulls himself closer to Maggie as he attempts to bandage her right shoulder with a shred of his jacket. "You're not going to die, Maggie." he tells her as he finishes tending to her shoulder.

Now, he thinks, all that he has to do is keep pressure to the wound on her stomach. He moves towards her stomach and presses his right hand against the wound so that he may keep the pressure on it as he attempts to cut a shred of his jacket from what little remains.

"You're not-" Hal begins. He pauses and takes in a deep breath of air before he says, "You're not going to leave me."

As he speaks, Hal sounds so sure that there is no way that Maggie will leave him in this moment or ever. But he isn't as sure as he is letting on. Inside, he's panicking. He's frightened of losing Maggie. He's scared of the state that she is in. He's worried that help will not come soon enough.

"I don't want to leave you." Maggie replies; as she speaks she moves her right hand so that it is resting on top of Hal's, which continues to keep the pressure on the wound to her stomach. "I don't want to let you go." she adds; her voice is much quieter as she speaks those words which have always been so very true.

She has never wanted to let Hal Mason go. From the first day that they met she had never wanted to let him go. She had always known that. And now, in this moment, she had never been so determined to hold on and yet so frightened that she would close her eyes and accidentally let him go.

"You won't." Hal tells her. With a small smile on his face, he whispers, "I won't let you go."

Maggie pauses before she asks, "You promise?"

"I do." Hal answers. He holds her gaze as he says, "I promise if you do."

Maggie nods and with a small smile she answers, "I do. I promise."

But as she speaks, Maggie isn't entirely certain that she is strong enough to hold on. She had believed that before she had felt such insufferable pain but that was nothing to what she felt now. Not only was this pain so incredibly strong and unbearable, she was also numb. She hadn't felt this numb before.

Maggie sighs before, with a much lower voice, she says, "Hal…."

"Yeah?" he replies, quickly.

"I'm at my last little drop." she admits; she holds Hal's gaze as she speaks.

Hal shakes his head as he replies, "No. You're not. You're not, Maggie. You've got so much left." he tells her.

"I am." she says; as she speaks she sounds so defeated as though she truly believes that there is no way that she will ever make it back from this.

"I'm not letting you go, okay. I won't." Hal says; as he speaks he watches as Maggie, who is wearing a small smile on her face, slowly close her eyes.

The expression on Hal's face shifts into one of great pain and fear as he says, "Oh, no. No, no. No, Maggie."

He moves in closer as he lifts his hands, from where they had previously rested keeping pressure on the wound on her stomach, towards her cheeks. He finds that her cheeks are so cold as he gently presses his bloodied hands against them.

"Maggie." he says; he sounds so desperate as he calls out to her. "Stay with me, okay?" he says.

Maggie's breathing becomes faster, more rapid, and her eyes remain closed in this moment because she finds that for a moment she cannot open them.

"Stay with me." Hal repeats "Maggie, come on." he says, gently tapping her cheeks as he speaks. "Open your eyes and stay here, with me, okay?" he adds.

"I'm here." she says, finally, as she slowly opens her eyes.

Hal pauses as he draws in a tight, long breath of air. Then, he says, "I need- I need you to keep the pressure on the wounds, Maggie."

As he speaks he moves her right hand towards her stomach and presses it down so that she is keeping the pressure to that wound.

"I have to….I have to get you inside." he tells her.

The thought of moving when she feels so broken, so weak, causes Maggie such fear as she dreads the pain that will accompany such a movement.

"No, Hal." Maggie replies, quickly. "Don't." she says. She continues with a pained expression on her features and a much lower voice, "I can't. It hurts, Hal."

"I know it hurts, Maggie." Hal says, with a sadder tone. "I know. And I'm sorry but I have to get you inside, Maggie. You need help." he tells her.

"I can't, Hal. My body." she says, simply. "That damn skitter." she adds with a small grimace on her features.

"What?" Hal asks, with a slight frown.

"I think it's broken." she replies.

Hal hesitates before he asks, "What- What's broken, Maggie?"

"Me." she replies. She stops as she takes in a deep breath of air. "My bones." she tells him. "The damn skitter…." she begins.

As she speaks she can almost picture the skitter moving towards her; she had been so injured already and so unprepared for it. It had thrown her, effortlessly and cruelly, against the brick wall and as it had Maggie had felt such severe pain as her back and neck had hit the wall. She had known in that moment, as she'd been thrown into the wall, that something was wrong.

"My back….I think it's broken…." she tells Hal; as she speaks Hal can hear the fear and the pain that echoes in every word that passes her lips.

Hal pauses for a moment before he suggests, "Let me carry you."

This is the only thing that he can think to do. He knows that moving Maggie with the possibility of her neck and her back being severely injured is not the best option but they don't have another. Hal feels as though they are wasting their precious time out here.

Ben should have returned with help by now. Help should be here, for Maggie, but it isn't and he needs to get her inside so that they can save her because Hal cannot lose her.

"Hal…." Maggie whispers. She lifts her gaze to find his as she says, softly, "Come on."

"What?" he asks, with a slight frown.

She pauses before she begins, "We both know how this-"

"No." Hal says, quickly.

He knows how that sentence was going to end. He knows exactly what it was that Maggie was going to say. She was going to say that they both know how this ends and it's not how it ends. Maggie's ending is not now. Their ending is not now. They have so much time left, together, and Hal will not let things end now.

"You're fine." Hal says, quickly. "We just-" he begins. He hesitates before he yells out, "Help?!"

With a much louder voice, he calls out, "Someone?!"

Hal stops to draw in a tight breath before he shouts, with such a pained voice, "Anyone?! We need help. Come on – we just….Help?!"

He sounds so desperate and so in need of help as he shouts of for it. And he is desperate. Maggie needs help. She needs Anne's or Lourdes or anyone else's help. She needs to be treated and cared for. She needs to survive this because Hal can't survive this without her.

Maggie, who had moments earlier realised that Hal's attempts at keeping the pressure on her wounds were futile as she still continued to bleed out, allows the fear to consume her entirely.

"Hal, I don't want to let go." she says, honestly.

Hal glances back towards Maggie and presses his hands back down on her stomach, to keep the pressure on to wounds to try to stop the blood. But somehow the blood manages to escape, as it always does, and slowly trickle down his already stained and shaking hands.

"So don't let go, Maggie. Don't let go." Hal answers; as he speaks Hal slowly lifts his hazel eyes, which have welled with water, from where they had rested on the wound on Maggie's stomach towards her eyes.

"It hurts….bad." Maggie mutters, before she coughs.

"That's why we need help." he tells her.

"I can't." Maggie replies.

And as she speaks the insufferable pain which Maggie is feeling moves through into Hal because her pain has and always will be his pain too and he knows now that he cannot possibly ask her or convince her to move as he does not wish to bring upon her further pain.

"I can't…." she repeats, with a much quieter tone.

"I know." Hal whispers; his voice was not intended to come out so low, so weak, but he has no control over it as the words leave his mouth. "It's okay." he tells her. "It's going to be fine." he adds.

As Maggie hears those words, that it's going to be fine, she wants to believe them with all of her heart and soul but she feels so drained. She feels like she's at her last little drop, again, and last time she never got it back so she didn't have much to lose, much to fight for, this time.

She slowly closes her eyes as she whispers, "Is it….?"

"Yes, it is." Hal answers. "Just- Keep your eyes open." he pleads.

"They're open…." Maggie sighs as she very slowly re-opens her eyes.

"Keep them that way." Hal answers, with a slightly louder tone.

"I'll try." she answers, honestly, because she will try her hardest to stay with him.

"Maggie…." Hal begins.

He pauses as he moves so that he is kneeling beside her and is as close to her as he possibly can be. Her eyes flutter as though she might close them but she doesn't. She rests her head back against the wall and looks up to meet Hal's gaze as she waits for him to continue.

"Don't let me go." he tells her.

"Don't leave me." she answers.

Hal could never leave Maggie if he wanted to. He could never bring himself to do such a thing.

He nods and with a small, sad smile, he says, "I'm not going anywhere."

Slowly, Hal lifts his right hand and pushes a blonde strand, coated with blood, off of Maggie's face and then he uses a shred of his jacket to try to wipe the blood away from her forehead so that it will not fall into her eyes.

"Hal…." she mutters.

He notes that as she speaks, and as she finishes speaking, that her breathing becomes deeper and frighteningly slower than earlier.

"You're fine." he tells her, quickly. "Keep breathing." he says; as he speaks he continues to try to wipe the blood away from her skin but he cannot.

He finds that her skin has, if possible, become paler. It is clammy, now, and droplets of sweat have stained her skin.

He tosses the bloodied shred of clothing away as he finds that Maggie does not answer him. Her eyes remain open but she does not speak. She does not respond or acknowledge Hal because for a moment she feels as though she is somewhere else entirely and becomes oblivious to her surroundings.

"Maggie, stay with me. Okay? Keep breathing, Maggie. And keep your eyes open." he tells her; despite that he so badly wishes to remain calm and confident in a situation such as this, so that he may convince Maggie that all is well, he cannot.

She lifts her brown eyes to meet his hazel eyes but she does not speak. She simply looks at him whilst wearing a deeply saddened and fearful expression on her features.

"Maggie." Hal begins; as he speaks Hal chokes back another sob which he hadn't realised had almost passed his lips.

"Stay with me." he tells her. He pauses before he takes her right hand with his left and holds it tightly. "I love you." he says, loudly.

These words cause Maggie to find Hal's gaze immediately and for a small, sad smile to appear on her face.

"Stay with me because I love you." Hal continues; as he speaks he becomes completely unaware of the tears which have fallen down onto his cheeks. "OK?" he asks. "I don't want to and I can't – I can't live in a world without you in it." he tells her, honestly.

Hal cannot possibly live in a world without Maggie. He cannot live in a world where she ceases to exist because then he too would cease to exit. His heart might still continue to beat and he would still continue to breathe but he would not be living.

If he were to ever lose her, he would never love again.

As she ignores the tears that spill on her own cheeks and mix into her stained cheeks, Maggie answers, with a much bigger smile, "I love you, too."

Hearing these words from Maggie causes Hal to genuinely smile and as he does he moves in towards Maggie and gently kisses her. As he pulls away from the kiss he rests his head so gently against hers so that they may be as close as they possibly can be.

As their heads rest against the others, with open eyes, as Maggie whispers, "I don't want to leave you."

She takes in a deep breath of air before she chokes back a sob. "I can't lose you."

And she can't lose Hal Mason because he means everything to her. He is everything to her. He was unexpected. They were uncertain and unsure. But they were always meant to be. They were always meant to end up together and she can't lose him when she's just gotten him back again.

"You're not." Hal tells her. "You're not leaving me." he says.

"Maggie…." Hal says; he sighs softly as he watches her briefly close her eyes. "Your eyes." he says, simply.

She opens her eyes, quickly, and replies, "I'm sorry….I'm just….I'm so tired."

"I know…." Hal answers. "But you've gotta keep them focused. Just keep looking at me, alright." he tells her. "Talk to me, okay, Maggie – You've gotta stay away." he adds.

"Okay." she replies, softly.

Maggie takes a moment to speak and when she finally does her voice is so soft, and so raw. "I'm sorry." she says.

These words confuse Hal as he knows in his heart that Maggie has absolutely nothing to be sorry for. She hasn't done anything wrong. She has nothing to apologise for.

"Don't be…" Hal begins; he falls silent as Maggie continues speaking.

"For everything." she states.

"You have nothing to be-" he begins but he, again, falls silent as he allows Maggie to speak.

"I do." she tells him. She draws in a sharp breath before she says, "I wasted our time."

"You didn't waste our time." Hal replies, quickly, with a slight frown on his face. "I don't regret a moment." he tells her, honestly, as he pulls back sightly so that he may put pressure against the wound on her stomach.

"You don't?" she asks; she sounds as though she is almost surprised that Hal doesn't regret any of his time with her.

"No." he tells her. "What would I regret?" he asks; he is a little confused as to what parts Maggie would believe that he regrets.

"I don't…." Maggie begins.

She sighs softly as she shifts her gaze away from Hal. She then proceeds to stare down, at the ground, as she says, "Everything…."

Hal remains silent as he allows Maggie to continue speaking so that she may explain why she would believe that he would regret everything. He regrets nothing. Not a single second.

"Finding me…." she begins.

"No." he tells her, simply. "You-You've saved my butt more times than I can count." he states, with the smallest grin on his face. "If it weren't for you…." He begins but falls silent.

He doesn't want to think what his life would be like now if it weren't for Maggie. He's not sure he'd have a life it weren't for her. She saved him from the skitters after he was harnessed. She's saved him countless times in battle. She has stayed by his side despite all the difficult things that they have been through.

Without Maggie, he believes that he would be injured or dead right now because she has saved his life so many times.

"Everything that happened, with us, and with me…." Hal begins.

"Karen." she says, simply. "I mean….Do you regret-" she begins.

Hal knows what Maggie is going to say before she finishes her sentence. What she means to ask, but what she will not ask, is if Hal regrets meeting Maggie and inevitably falling for her which ultimately led to him losing all and any of his feelings for Karen.

"No." Hal says, firmly. "Never." he tells her. "What we had…." he begins but falls silent for a moment.

What he and Karen had is difficult for him to sum up into words because he was never really sure what it was they had. They had chemistry, sure. They kissed. There was something there. There was a heat between them but that heat didn't mean as much to Hal as he'd believed it did at the time.

What Hal feels for Maggie is so much stronger and so much more complex than heat. He has always felt that there was something so powerful between the two of them. He had always felt drawn to Maggie as though he was being pulled to her. Whenever they were together, he had never felt happier, and in the moments they were apart he longed to see her. He cared for her so greatly, more than he cared for himself, and he would die for her. The feelings which he holds for Maggie are so strong that they consume him entirely. They have a bond that can never be broken; a bond that will always connect them.

Hal had never believed that he could feel what he felt with Maggie before he'd met her. But, then he'd found her and he'd fallen so hard and so quickly and he'd known that there was no possible way that he could ever stop feeling what he felt for her or feel it again with someone else. It was only ever going to be her.

"It wasn't real." Hal tells her, honestly. "I didn't feel…What I feel with you." he adds. He pauses before he says, "I don't regret a moment with you, Maggie."

"You don't?" she asks, softly.

"No, I don't." he replies. "I'd do it all again, if I had the chance." he says.

"You would?" she asks, with the smallest smile that he has ever seen on her face.

"I would." he answers; as he speaks he draws in a much sharper, longer breath of air. "All of it." he adds.

"Hal…." she begins, softly.

For a moment, Maggie falls silent as she presses her lips together. Hal waits silently for Maggie to speak and does not force her to speak until she is ready.

"It's always been you." she tells him. "Right from the beginning." she whispers.

Right from the beginning, Maggie had known that there was something different about Hal Mason. She had known that there was something about him that she would never be able to forget and she would never forget him, ever, because he was a part of her.

"Before….I never thought…." He begins. He stops to clear his throat before he says, "I could feel what I've felt….With you."

"Me too, Hal." Maggie says, with a shakier voice. "I've never felt happier….." she begins. She closes her eyes, briefly, as she says, "Safer…or stronger, in my life…"

"So use that strength here, Maggie." Hal tells her. "Think of that happiness, of our happiness, and use the strength now." he adds

Maggie sighs and sadly admits, "I'm so tired, Hal. My chest hurts…And… And I want to stay…."

She pauses before she says, with her voice barely above a whisper, "I don't want to let go….When I thought I lost you….all those times…It killed a part of me."

"Stay with me, now." he tells her; as he speaks he moves, slightly, away from Maggie as he quickly but carefully checks each of her wounds. He finds that they have bled through his makeshift bandages and that they are bleeding more than earlier.

Hal wonders why there is no help here. He's so angry that no help has arrived. They need help. He fears that Maggie has gone into shock, from such a large amount of blood loss, as he looks around at the pool of blood which she lies soaked in.

"I'm so tired, Hal…." she admits. Her breathing, which had previously slowed down to some extent, becomes much more rapid as she continues, "My life…All of it….It wasn't living, until I met you."

Hal moves back towards Maggie side and as he reaches it he presses his hand to her stomach and holds her right hand with his left.

"It was surviving….Barely…." she continues with a much lower and much sadder voice.

As Maggie speaks Hal finds that he cannot meet her gaze. He cannot meet her gaze because he's scared to look in her eyes because he cannot lie to her. He cannot tell her that she is going to be okay, as he so desperately wants her to be, because she has lost far too much blood to be okay.

"Those years…." she whispers. "They drained me…." she adds; her tone is that of a much darker one as she, for a moment, painfully relives those haunting years. "I'm so tired, of it all, Hal. I'm so tired of life…." she tells him.

"It's okay to close your eyes, Maggie." Hal tells her, with such a quiet tone. He lifts his gaze now to find that her eyes are already closed. "We're there." he says.

Hal doesn't want Maggie to have to relive the dark and haunting pain of those years which she so dreads remembering and so he will give her another memory, a new one, to think of as she holds on because he does believe that she can and will hold on.

She's a fighter, an incredibly tough and strong one, and she's a survivor who has been through so much and made it through to the other side.

"What….." she begins, softly.

"In the mountains…." he tells her.

She pauses before she asks, "We are?"

"We are." Hal replies. "Can't you see me?" he asks.

And as those words enter Maggie's mind she can see Hal and she can see the fields of purple and green in the mountains. She's standing in the field, lit up by the golden light of the afternoon sun, and as she turns slowly she finds Hal standing before her smiling at her.

"I can." she answers; without her knowledge a smile appears on her face as her eyes remain closed and she stays in the memory, and in the place, which she so longs to be in.

"We're there, Maggie, together." Hal tells her.

Maggie cannot see it but Hal's expression is that of a greatly pained one as he so longs to be happy with Maggie for always but you do not always get all that you want despite how badly you long to have it.

"We made it?" she asks; she sounds as though she is so happy and she cannot believe that they made it here, together.

"We made it because you didn't let go." Hal answers, with a softer tone.

"I won't…." Maggie begins; she fails to finish speaking as she falls and remains silent.

"Maggie…." Hal says; he pulls his hand out of hers and gentle taps her cheeks. "No, no, no. Come on." he adds with a far more desperate voice.

She does not wake. She remains silent and unmoving as Hal continues to desperately call out to Maggie. "Come on, Maggie." he whispers, pleading with her to stay awake.

But she does not respond to him. She doesn't wake and Hal cannot see the rise and fall of her chest as he easily could seconds earlier. He moves towards her and begins frantically searching for a pulse; he finds one but it's so incredibly weak that he almost misses it entirely.

"Come on, Maggie." he says; as he speaks he gently slides his right arm underneath her body, and his left underneath her legs.

Then, he quickly but with such care, lifts her bloodied and broken body from the ground. Maggie makes no sound; no grimace or groan of pain as he lifts her up. Her eyes remain closed tightly and she remains in her limp, fragile state in his arms.

"Help?" Hal calls out, with the panic booming in his voice, as he re-traces his earlier steps towards the doors of the library.

"Maggie, stay with me." he tells her. "You gotta stay with me, alright?" he asks; he speaks as though she is awake and having this conversation with him but she is not. "I need my partner out there. I need you to have my back so you have to stay with me and stay awake." he says.

"Just stay with me a little longer." he adds.

He lifts his gaze away from Maggie and towards the ground in front of him as he calls out, "Help?!"

"Hal?" Dai calls back, loudly.

As Hal turns the corner, with Maggie in his arms, he comes to face a bloodied and limping Dai stepping towards him with a rifle held firmly in his stained hands. Dai casts a quick glance over Hal and Maggie before he says, "Doctor Glass is right in there, main room, brother."

With a slight nod of his head, Hal steps past Dai and follows his directions towards the main room which he had, not so long ago, found his wounded father in. Hal feels such incredible guilt as his thoughts and time had been completely consumed by Maggie and her wounds and he had, for a brief moment, forgotten about his father's wounds.

"I need help!" Hal calls out; he speaks much louder now as he reaches for the doors. With both of his hands holding Maggie, he turns his back towards the doors and pushes it opens that way.

As he comes to step inside the room and turns around he finds Anne tending to Tom's wounds, who is sitting on the bottom of the staircase.

"Hal," Tom sighs, loudly; as he speaks he stands from where he had been sitting and moves towards Hal.

"I need help, Dad." Hal says, simply; he sounds so fragile and so broken. "She-She's hurt, Dad." he tells him.

"Right through this way, Hal." Anne replies.

"Where's Ben?" Hal asks as they move towards the nearest med room.

"He was injured. Lourdes is fixing him up." Anne says, quickly.

As they enter the room Anne directs Hal towards a table which he may lay Maggie's body down onto.

"She, uh, she hurt her back. Broken, maybe, and the blood-" Hal says; he stutters frequently as he gently sets her body down.

As he looks down upon Maggie, Hal cannot help but to think of how peaceful she looks and if it weren't for her broken bones, and the blood that will not stop flowing out of her wounds, he might believe that she was simply sleeping but it isn't as simple as that. It is never as simple as this.

Hal moves towards Maggie to check for her pulse but he does not find one. Hal's chest stops beating in his chest as he does not find a pulse, even after a moment of waiting for it.

"Anne, she-she's not- she's not- not pulse." Hal says; his face contorts into an expression of great agony and pain as he speaks.

A deep, painful sob passes Hal's lips as he says, "Maggie, Maggie come on."

He tries to wake her up by placing his hands against her cheeks but she won't wake.

Anne steps forward, quickly, and states, "Hal, you need to give me some room."

Without hesitation, Anne presses her fingers against Maggie's neck so that she may feel her pulse but she does not find one. She moves towards her wrist but she does not find one. So, she begins to attempt to resuscitate Maggie. She moves down towards Maggie's legs and raises them slightly, so as to keep the blood flowing to the head and the heart, as she tries to save her.

"You're not doing anything, Anne." Hal says. "You're not helping her – You're not saving her." he adds.

He moves towards Maggie's side, ignoring Anne's words, as he begins to push down onto her chest in a desperate attempt to restart her heart.

"Come on, Maggie!" he calls out, begging for her to wake and be with him.

"Hal…." Tom steps forward; he knows how greatly his son cares for Maggie, Tom cares for Maggie too, but he needs to let Anne do her work to save Maggie.

"Come on." Hal repeats. He continues pressing down on her chest as he says, choking back another sob, "Come on, Maggie."

"Hal..." Anne sighs, softly.

Hal says, loudly, and with shaking hands which continue to press down onto Maggie's bloodied chest, "Damn it, Maggie! Don't leave me. Come on."

"Hal…." a voice whispers, gently, into Hal's ears.

He ignores the voice and continues pressing down as hard as he can, onto Maggie's chest; he uses every that he has left inside of his mind, heart and body in these movements because he can't lose her and he can't let her go.

The voice repeats, "Hal."

"Stay with me, Maggie." he sobs, begging her to stay. "You said-you said you'd stay with me." he says.

He begs her because he needs her. He cannot live in a world where she does not exist. He cannot exist without her. Without her, he is nothing.

"Come with me, Hal." she whispers.

And as he hears these words, he knows who it is. He recognises the voice, her voice; it is Maggie. His eyes close, briefly, as he hears her calling out to him again.

When Hal's eyes re-open he finds himself gasping for air as though he has not taken a breath of air in years. His chest heaves heavily in and out as his eyes dart frantically around the room. He does not find himself in the room lit up by light, and stained by blood. He does not find Maggie's body lying crumpled, and without a pulse, on the table.

He finds himself resting in his own bed, with bandages covering his chest, wearing no shirt or camouflage jacket.

And then, he finds her, and it is the most relief that he has felt in quite some time. The sight of Maggie sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down upon him, causes Hal to draw in such a tight breath of air that it hurts his insides.

"Maggie…." he says, choking back a sob as her name passes his lips.

He moves to sit, ignoring the pain that surges throughout his body consuming him entirely, and as he does this he pulls her towards him embracing her as tightly as he possibly can. The embrace is only a short one, though, as Hal quickly pulls away and moves his eyes over her so to check for any wounds or injuries that she may have from the skitters.

He notices that she has changed into a long sleeved, black shirt and a black leather jacket on top of that. But, he finds no wounds and no blood staining her and this brings him such relief.

"Hal…." she begins, gently.

"You're here, Maggie." he says; he lets out another, deeper sigh. "You're here." he repeats.

"I'm here, Hal." she tells him; she continues to watch Hal with a slight concern as he speaks.

"I thought-I thought you left. That you were…." he begins but trails off because he cannot find the words.

"I told you, Hal, I'm not going anywhere." Maggie replies. "You were…You were restless. I thought you were…Dreaming." she states.

"I was." he replies, quickly. "I'm just – I'm so glad that you're here." he whispers, with a much more relaxed voice, as he slowly lowers himself back down on his bed.

His chest continues to heave in and out as he slowly begins to calm himself down. He was dreaming but it was a haunting nightmare; a horrible one which he wishes to never re-live or to remember.

"You need to rest, Hal." she whispers; as she speaks she moves in a little closer to Hal and pushes a strand of hair away from his forehead.

Then, Maggie lifts her right hand down towards the white bed sheet, which is down below his ankles, and pulls it up so that it is covering his chest.

"I'll be here when you wake." she says, simply, before slowly standing from the bed and returning to the armchair which she had pulled up to Hal's bedside.

And those few words mean so very much to Hal as he falls back to sleep. As he falls into this sleep he only hopes that he does not dream of losing Maggie again or of her death because such a thing was so unbearable that he could never see it again and survive it.

He falls to sleep knowing that in the morning when he wakes Maggie will be here and that's all that he needs to know for now.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reads and/or reviews my story. I'm truly grateful. Also, I apologise in advance for any spelling errors you may find - let me know if you do so I can fix it.**

**Enjoy.**


	58. Our scarred and violet hearts

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

As Maggie had rested silently on the armchair by Hal's bedside, with her knife still firmly in one hand and her gun in the other, she had first believed that as she heard several light and quick taps on the door to the room that it had been Lourdes wanting to enter but as the tapping on the door had quickly disappeared she'd come to the quick realisation that it had been Pope alerting her that he was starting his shift and that they should be leaving now.

She had sat in the armchair with her knife and gun for protection – but it wasn't for protection against Hal because she never has and never will feel as though she needs to protect herself from Hal Mason. It was for protection against whoever may enter their door; she had readied herself as a precaution if the soldiers decided to come earlier than planned to take Hal to interrogation.

There are moments when Maggie may doubt that Hal is the man that she once knew but there has not been a moment, and she doesn't believe that there ever will be a moment, where she feels that she must physically protect herself from him.

In her heart, Maggie truly does not believe that Hal is well enough to be interrogated or talked to. Her feelings for him do not cloud her judgement on the matter. How much she cares for him does not influence her belief that he isn't ready. She truly believes that he is not physically or mentally well enough to undergo such a thing.

She does not believe that Hal should be punished for something that was completely out of his control and she does not believe that he would be able to withstand such a thing because he doesn't hold any knowledge that they do not. He doesn't remember much, if anything, about what it was like and what he did while under the control of the aliens.

She fails to see how he will be of any help to the Marines and so she will not allow them to speak with Hal yet and when the time comes that they do finally speak with him she will ensure that she is there beside him.

It pains Maggie to admit to herself that there are parts of Hal Mason that are missing; there fragments of his memory and his thoughts that are gone and he may never get these parts back.

But that is not all that is gone. His light is gone. His enthusiasm for life has disappeared. The life that she once saw in his eyes has dimmed. His love remains but it is wilted and damaged.

She stands from her chair and replaces her knife back into its place, in her jacket pocket, and then straps her gun into its place in its holster.

Silently, Maggie moves towards the corner of the room and moves, past the tables filled with large piles of messy and torn sheets of paper and books, towards a storeroom in the corner of the room. After slowly opening the door to the storeroom she pulls out the wheelchair, which she had kept it there for the night so that Lourdes would not become suspicious, and moves back towards Hal with the wheelchair in her right hand.

As she nears his bed she stops and unfolds the wheelchair, and once it is unfolded she locks the wheels. Then, she pushes away the footrests, for now, so that she may be able to get Hal into the chair with ease.

It doesn't take her long to unfold the chair; she does it with such ease and so quickly that in seconds she finds herself sitting by Hal's bedside about to wake him from the sleep that he had after hours of trying had fallen into.

Hal hadn't fallen to sleep with ease. He'd met it with dark and haunting fears and complete consuming darkness that he knew in his heart would stay with him because he didn't have the strength to outrun it or to fight it.

He had struggled with his mind for hours until he was finally able to allow sleep to take him but Maggie knew from simply watching Hal as he rested that his sleep had been far from a peaceful one.

He had woken once in the night, panicked and gasping for air as though he had been denied its privilege in the years which had passed, but she had been able to coax him back to sleep.

Maggie had been tempted to wake him throughout the night as he moved, when his body jolted or jerked a certain way, or as his breathing had become deeper and at one particular moment she nearly had woken him because she hadn't wanted his mind, or his dreams, to pain him as she was sure they would be doing but Lourdes, who had entered without Maggie's notice, had convinced her that Hal needed to sleep and if he were to wake now he would surely not be able to find sleep again.

Maggie pauses slightly before she slowly lowers her hand to Hal's elbow where she rests it, hoping that this simple touch will wake him, and this is enough to wake him. He does not open his eyes slowly or take a moment to open them but rather his eyes open as he feels her hand against his arm.

His gaze drops, instantly, down towards the hand resting on his arm and as he looks up towards Maggie and sees that it is her he calms down significantly. He hadn't been certain who it was that had reached out with their hand and touched him but his first thought hadn't been that it was Maggie and he is so glad to see her.

"Maggie…." he whispers, so softly. He manages the smallest smile as he continues, "Maggie, you're here. You're here with me."

"I've been here all along, Hal." Maggie answers, with a lower tone.

The smile falters before disappearing from his face as he says, "Have you? I thought-I thought you left. You were gone. Weren't you…"

"I haven't left." she replies, quickly, with a slight shake of her head. "I'm not leaving."

"You won't leave?" Hal asks; he sounds as though he needs such reassurance from her that she won't leave him because then he would be so entirely and completely alone and he doesn't want that; he's never wanted that.

Maggie manages a small smile, before she answers, "I won't."

"I'm glad…" Hal begins; he pauses as he very slowly moves his arm away from her hand; he only does this so he may re-position his arm.

He moves his arm so that he may be able to reach out to Maggie's hand. Slowly, and almost with caution, Hal edges his right hand closer towards Maggie's hand until his fingers are touching the side of her thumb.

"I'm just…." he begins but pauses again as he slowly lifts his hand one finger at a time so that it is resting on top of Maggie's hand.

As he does this Maggie cannot help but to notice that his hand continues to shake ever so slightly and he moves it with caution towards her as though he is afraid if he holds her hand too tightly or too quickly than he may lose her or cause her pain.

"I'm glad you're here." he says, softly; as those words pass his lips he lifts his gaze from her hand to her eyes which he finds are already on him watching him closely.

She tells him, with a quieter voice, "I'm getting you out, Hal."

He pauses in slight disbelief before he asks, "What?"

"Out of here." she answers.

He asks her, with such a confused expression, "What-You-You are? I don't-"

"I've got a way out, Hal." Maggie tells him. She adds, with a softer tone, "For both of us."

Hal replies, quickly, "Out of this room?"

"Out of this whole building." she says.

Hal manages a small smile as he whispers, "Thank you, Maggie. Thank you."

"I just – I've got your chair here, Hal." she tells him; as the words pass her lips Maggie stands from beside Hal, removing her hand from his, and towards the wheelchair.

As he sets his eyes down upon the chair his smile falters before fading entirely and his expression remains that of one that is attempting to be completely unreadable but Maggie can easily read it.

"Hal….The chair…." she begins; she wheels the chair towards his bed as she speaks.

"I know." Hal answers, quickly, before Maggie is able to finish speaking.

What Maggie was going to say was the chair doesn't change anything. It doesn't make him a weaker person or a helpless one. He needs the chair, for now, because he isn't strong enough to walk very far on his own.

"OK." she mutters. With a much softer voice, she says, "Let's get you into the chair."

She moves towards Hal's bedside and slowly moves his legs, one at a time, by lifting his ankle over towards the side of the bed. Quickly, she places one arm on Hal's upper back, careful not to touch any of the areas where he was wounded, and one arm on his lower back as far away from the injured area as possible.

Before Maggie moves Hal's any further, as she holds him up into this position, she pauses and speaks.

"Hal…." she begins. "This is... It's going to hurt." she adds.

She looks down to see Hal's eyes are closed and his lips are pressed together. He remains silent only for a moment longer before he answers.

"I trust you." he says, simply.

He trusts that Maggie would not wish to cause him any pain on purpose and therefore any pain he will feel as a result of such a movement is not her fault. Hal would never blame his pain on Maggie, anyway.

As Hal silently braces himself for what is to come, Maggie slowly and carefully moves Hal and guides him towards the edge of the bed so that he is resting there but she does not allow him to rest on the side of the bed for long as she believes it would only be prolonging the inevitable pain that will come.

She places her arm underneath Hal's uninjured shoulder and guides him, quickly but with such care, towards the wheelchair.

Maggie cannot pretend that she doesn't hear the muffled groan that rose in Hal's throat and attempted to pass his lips. He did not allow it to pass his lips, though, as he did not wish for Maggie to be aware of his pain because then she would feel it too and he does not wish for her to ever feel pain again.

After setting Hal down into the chair, Maggie then adjusts his legs, so that they are resting against the leg rest, and his feet so that they are gently resting against the footrests which she pulls out and sets up.

She takes a slight step back so that she may look upon Hal. His eyes are opened and were searching for hers. He makes no attempt to convince her that he did not feel such pain with the movement but rather remains silent.

She silently steps away from Hal and moves towards the end of his cot where she finds a bag of his shirts, which Tom had bought by when Hal had been moved in here, resting on the ground. She picks up the bag and unzips it. She casts her eyes over the contents before she pulls out the first shirt that she lays her eyes upon; a dark, navy blue t-shirt.

Maggie returns to Hal with the t-shirt in her hands and with no hesitation, and no announcement of what she is going to do, she bends down slightly before she begins to assist him in pulling on his shirt. Hal does not argue nor does he struggle. Instead, he allows Maggie to gently pull his arms through the sleeves and then for her to slowly, and so gently, pull the shirt down so that it is covering his body.

It will be cold outside and Maggie doesn't want Hal to catch a cold on top of everything else. Her eyes flicker over the room before they set down upon a thick grey blanket that she remembers Anne had carried in the previous day – It was for Hal if he were to suddenly require more than a simple bed sheet. She picks up the folded blanket and gently places it down onto Hal's lap so that he may hold it as she pushes him out of the building.

Maggie steps towards the back of Hal's wheelchair and as she reaches it she sets her hands down onto the push handles. With care, she turns the chair and begins to wheel him out of their room. As they reach the door she releases her grip on the push handles and moves towards the door handle; as she opens it she takes a brief but detailed look out into the corridor to find that it is, in this moment, empty and so Maggie takes this as their moment to move.

She quickly, but with such care so that she will not cause Hal further pain, proceeds to push him down the first corridor. They follow the hallway down to the end and then take a left. They follow this hallway until they come across the first opportunity to turn right. They turn right and proceed down the dimly lit, and empty, corridor and they move straight down it until they come towards the only door on this corridor; an exit door.

Maggie brings the wheelchair to a halt before the closed door and just as she moves to open it she finds that it is opened, from the other side. As the door quickly opens, from the other side, Isaac comes into view before Maggie and Hal and as he steps through the doorway he casts a quick but detailed look over Maggie and then over Hal.

Maggie notes that Isaac looks tired, pale and holds a somewhat sickly appearance. He wears a slightly curious expression on his features before he coughs, once, to clear his throat.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure of properly meeting. Isaac Hatchet." he says; as he speaks he steps towards Hal and extends his left hand towards Hal.

"Hal Mason." Hal replies; as he answers he shakes Isaac's hand.

"Well…." Isaac begins. He pauses before he states, "Let me get the door for you two."

Isaac takes a step back, through the doorway he had just stepped through seconds earlier, and moves so that he is holding the door open for the two of them so that Maggie may be able to easily push Hal through on the wheelchair.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asks, warily; she does not move from where she stands, beside Hal, as she speaks.

She is careful to watch Isaac as she speaks. She doesn't understand why he would be letting the two of them leave the building when he would be entirely aware of the meeting that was to come in a few hours.

"Taking a walk." he replies, casually. "It was quite a boring walk, if I'm to be honest." he adds. He takes in a small breath of air before he says, "I didn't see anyone, or anything, on my walk this morning."

Maggie understands know what it is that Isaac is doing. He's letting them leave and he's going to act as though he never came across them in the first place. She moves, quickly, back behind Hal's wheelchair and proceeds to push him out of the door and onto the small stone pathway.

She glances up at Isaac to find him already watching her. He nods, once, meaning that he knows she was about to thank him but he requires no such thing. Then, he steps through the door and allows it to close behind him.

As Maggie slowly pushes Hal's chair down the path, which she knows is bound to run out soon and they will shortly come across bumpy land, she quickly looks down upon Hal to find his eyes closed and his lips pressed together.

She pauses before she says, "You okay, Hal?"

As she speaks she tries to remain as casual as she can when asking such a question but the worry which she wears is evident in her voice.

"I'm fine." Hal replies, simply.

For a few moments, after he had woken from his rest, Hal had managed to forget about his previous conversation with his brother. Perhaps, he had momentarily forgotten about the conversation because he had been trying to purposely black out the reminder of it. But nothing can truly be forgotten.

The memory of his conversation with Ben, and the painfully haunting memory of what he did to Billy, continues to replay before his open eyes and he feels so incredibly sick just thinking of it. And on top of that, he is painfully reminded of his awful dream of Maggie dying. Such thoughts, of Maggie dying or leaving him, cause Hal great pain.

Maggie was right, when she had believed that the stone-pathway would soon run out and it does, but she was also wrong when she'd believed that they'd be moving over unsteady and bumpy ground. The stone-pathway had led them away from the library and down over a small, almost broken, bridge which Maggie had been so careful as she'd pushed Hal over it. As they'd crossed the bridge, she had found that a slightly rocky, but not too rocky, pavement had led them towards several stairs made from wood that move up the slope.

"Finally!" a voice, stepping out from the shrubbery and trees to the right of them, exclaims.

"Took your freakin' time." Pope states; as he speaks he steps out so that he is standing in the clearing, so that they may properly view him.

He notes, as he steps forward, that Maggie's hand had dropped towards the weapon holstered at her side.

Hal frowns, as he begins, "Pope, what are-"

"No need for that." he tells her. "What was your plan, Maggie-May?" Pope asks. "Carry him up there?" he questions. He pauses before he says, "Not with the way you are."

What Pope means is that he doesn't believe that Maggie is, at the moment, physically well enough to carry Hal up these stairs in her arms. He isn't implying that she isn't physically strong, because she is and he'd never dispute that because she can pack a punch, but what he means is he doesn't think that she has healed enough from her previous wounds to attempt such a thing.

Pope lets out a deep sigh, as Maggie remains silent, before he announces, "Come on. Let's get bug-boy up the stairs."

Maggie moves Hal's wheelchair so that the back of the chair is facing the stairs. Then, she places the breaks on by pressing down on the handles. As Maggie does this, Pope moves towards the front of the wheelchair and slowly bends down so that he may grip on, tightly, to the bar at the bottom of the chair.

Maggie grips on, tightly, to the handles before she says, "Ready."

"Keep all arms and legs inside the ride at all times." Pope mutters. He pauses before he repeats, "Ready."

Maggie and Pope move simultaneously; they lift the wheelchair up into the air at the same time and as they do this they are careful to keep their knees bent and their backs straight. They tilt the wheelchair slightly back after they have lifted it in the air before they climb the steps one step at a time.

"Okay." Maggie says, as she reaches the top step. "I'm at the top." she tells Pope.

As Pope takes the last step and moves forward he slowly and carefully assists Maggie in firmly setting down the wheelchair on the ground. Then, Pope kneels down and does something that neither Maggie nor Hal expected; he moves Hal's foot rest, which he had pushed away so that it would not get into his way, back into its place and then he slowly takes Hal's feet one at a time and places them back against the rest.

Upon noting Maggie's and Hal's gaze, Pope coughs twice as he stands from the ground. "Can't give you long." he states; as he speaks he takes a step away from the two of them and begins moving back down the wooden stairs.

As Maggie unlocks the brakes, so that she may move the chair, she simply replies, "Okay."

The silence remains between the two of them as she moves Hal's wheelchair down the surprisingly smooth path, a worn wooden pathway, which leads them down towards a small cottage which Maggie believes belonged to the librarian. They pass the cottage, which is covered with vines and wild bushes of green, and continue down the pathway until they near an old, rusted gate.

She steps past Hal and pushes open the rusted gate, which wasn't locked because the lock wore away years ago, and then Maggie re-takes her place behind Hal's chair as they take a left, past old pots filled with dead plants and flowers and thick bushes which have become overgrown and wild in the past months.

They follow the slightly steep path until they come past an abundance of uncared for and wild trees. As they step through these trees, and the arch way which they had almost hidden entirely, they come to view the gazebo now.

From what Maggie can see of it, although she cannot see much of the paint, she believes that it was once painted a soft shade of blue. Thick, dark green, wild vines have engulfed the gazebo almost entirely. But, perhaps, this will be better for them as you cannot see clearly into the gazebo from where they stand so it may delay them being found.

"You snuck me out of here, didn't you?" Hal asks; as he speaks he shifts his gaze away from the gazebo and towards the gently running lake only a few feet away from them.

Blue, white and purple flowers have fallen from nearby trees and bushes, which have somehow managed to survive the new world, have fallen on the top of the lake where they rest.

"Yeah…." Maggie begins. "Well, you snuck me out of Charleston." she adds.

"That was different." Hal counters, quickly.

It was so much different. The memory of he and Maggie in Charleston, or even before Charleston, feels as though it was so many, many long years ago. He cannot remember it clearly. He cannot picture it clearly. As he closes his eyes, he cannot see much clearly and this troubles him greatly.

"Come on." Maggie says; she had, as Hal had spoken, noticed that they would not be able to get Hal up the stairs as they had earlier because Pope was not around.

There were only four small stairs and Maggie was certain that with her help, Hal could walk them, and it would make him stronger for doing so.

She kneels down before Hal and slowly removes his legs from the rest, pushing the rests back out of the way. Then, she takes the blanket and sets it down on the top stair of the gazebo, out of their way for now.

Hal edges forward on his seat, until he is resting on the very edge of it, and then he allows Maggie to slide her left arm under his right shoulder so that he may lean on her to walk. He draws in a sharp breath as he stands, unsteadily, from his chair. He takes in another, longer breath as he steps forward.

After one step, Hal is able to grip onto the railing, also engulfed by shrubbery and bush, with his left hand. He holds on to it as tightly as he can as Maggie assists him in taking his first step up a set of stairs since he had been so badly wounded.

Hal's expression does not change as he takes the step. He does not groan or grimace. He does not speak or make a single sound. Rather, he remains silent. He remains silent because he does not wish to inflict further pain on Maggie as he is all too aware that her pain is his and his pain is hers.

"How are you doing, Hal?" Maggie asks; she speaks as he lifts his right leg, and then his left, and then they're on the third step.

"Good." Hal replies, quickly, and Maggie knows that he is lying.

A grimace, which he passes off as a small smile, appears on his face as he answers.

As they finish moving up the stairs, Maggie looks as though she is going to leave Hal resting against the railing so that she may get his wheelchair. But, Hal objects.

"I don't-" he begins. He pauses as he quickly runs the tip of his tongue over his dry lips. "I don't need it." he tells her.

Hal isn't entirely sure whether Maggie truly believes him, or not, as she moves back down the stairs leaving him to lean against the rail. She folds up the chair and carries it up; even if Hal does not use it, if she leaves it outside for all to see then he will get found sooner.

"Let's go inside, then." Maggie says; she replaces her left arm underneath Hal's, while holding the chair in her right hand, as she speaks.

She places her arm underneath him as though it is such a normal thing to do and there needn't be any fuss made over such a thing. Maggie doesn't treat Hal like a patient, like his father or Anne would. She doesn't treat him as though he is broken or helpless, despite that it may be what she feels, because she knows better.

Maggie knows what it is like to be treated like a patient. To be treated as though you're fragile, like you will break at the simplest touch, and she remembers how helpless she once felt.

She didn't know at the time, but she knows now, that her family hadn't meant to treat her that way. It was the only way that they knew how to – it was how they had dealt with her situation.

Maggie places the wheelchair down, against the outside of the gazebo, as they reach what Maggie soon learns is a glass door. She manages to find the handle and turns it to find that it isn't locked. After budging it open, she pushes it open with her right foot so that she wouldn't have to leave Hal without any support.

Slowly, she leads the way into the gazebo with her right hand resting instinctively and firmly on her gun.

She casts her eyes over the room to find it that it is dusty but is surprisingly not filled with as much dirt as she had expected. The vines have only managed to engulf the outside of the gazebo and sneak in, slightly, underneath the tiniest crack underneath the door. It isn't as dirty or uncared for as Maggie had imagined that it might be. She finds that three out of the four walls of the gazebo, three of them are lined with benches of sorts.

Wooden benches with thick blue and yellow patterned cushions resting on the top and bottom them. These seats, which are almost like day beds, are large enough for the both of them to rest upon together. Maggie slowly guides Hal towards the edge of the bench in the farthest corner of the room. She pulls away from him, only for the briefest second, while she pulls together a few more pillows. Then, she returns to his side and while still propping him up she manages to set up several pillows so that Hal's back may be cushioned as he leans against the seat.

"I can do this, Maggie." Hal says; he speaks as he looks down at Maggie.

He meets her gaze, slowly and with almost a slight reluctance, before he adds, "I can."

"Okay." Maggie nods; with such reluctance.

She pulls away from him slowly and watches him, silently, for a second, as he stands alone, before she leaves him to get the chair and the blanket from where she had left them resting outside of the gazebo.

After Maggie leaves the gazebo, Hal steps with more confidence towards the seat. He already feels a little bit stronger; even if that strength is only small, and even though he knows that it will fade out soon, he still feels it and it's more than he felt yesterday or the days before that.

Hal lowers himself down on to the edge of the seat before he moves his body backwards so that he is resting in, and among, the pile of pillows which Maggie had set up for him. The seat is so large that he is able to rest on a lean with his feet resting straight out, and his legs do not dangle off of the edge. Rather, there is enough room if he had wanted to lay down straight and still his feet would not touch the edge.

As Maggie returns, Hal looks up and watches her rest the wheelchair against the wall beside the door. She closes the door next and after finding a lock she locks it. Then, she turns towards Hal with the blanket in her hands and manages a small smile.

"Surprised you can still see me, you know…." Hal begins; he pauses only as he begins to cough loudly. As the cough passes, eventually, he adds, "With me being in pillow Mountain and all…."

Maggie simply smiles at this as she moves towards where Hal is resting. She does not hesitate to take a seat near him. She sits with her feet tucked to one side and so the right side of her body is resting against a pillow. She sits this way so that she may be able to look directly at Hal.

She glances down to his legs, which are only a few inches away from her legs, before she says, "How are you feeling?"

"Fine." he replies.

Maggie raises her eyebrows slightly before she says, "Hal."

He pauses as he allows a small, cold breath of air to pass his lips

"Maggie." he begins. "I'm fine…I just…." he says, softly, but falls silent before he finishes speaking because he can't allow himself to finish speaking.

"Just what?" she asks, not lifting her eyes from Hal as she speaks.

He pauses before he answers, "Nothing."

"It's isn't nothing, Hal." Maggie replies, quickly. "Go on." she tells him.

"You wouldn't understand." he tells her.

Maggie retorts, "Try me."

"You wouldn't…" Hal begins. He pauses, only briefly, as he considers the correct words. "You wouldn't understand." he tells her, honestly. "You couldn't. No one could….I'm just….Alone in this." he says.

"No." Maggie replies. "You're not alone, Hal, not at all." she tells him.

"Then, why do I feel it, Maggie?" Hal replies, quickly. He raises his voice slightly, and unintentionally, as he continues, "I am so alone. You can't see it."

He does believe that he is alone in this but Hal believes that he deserves to be alone. Hal believes that he is truly deserving of this haunting darkness and pain and he believes that it will stay with him for as long as he shall continue to breathe.

Maggie answers, "You don't see-"

"I don't see anything, Maggie." Hal says, with a lowered voice.

He holds her gaze, because he cannot avoid it, as he continues, "There are so many things that I don't see clearly, things that I don't remember – then, there are the things that I do remember but I can't feel anything….I don't feel…I don't know, Maggie. I just…."

Maggie remains as she is, silent and watching Hal, as she watches his expression shift slightly. He lifts his left hand up to his forehead and rubs his temple, slowly, before he rests his hand back down by his side.

"I can't remember the last time that I was happy." he admits.

And such a simple sentence is so painful for Maggie to hear, as it passes his lips, because everyone deserves to be happy. She hates, so badly, what they have done to Hal and what they have turned him into and she hates that he has lost a part of himself.

She knows that he is carrying such guilt, and pain, and that he believes that it is rightfully his but it isn't. He never had the choice to do anything. It was entirely out of his control.

Hal's eyes almost appear to well up with the threat of tears as he says, "The last time that I smiled or the last time that I saw you smile."

A smile appears on his pale, defeated and worn features now as he finishes speaking but it is not a smile of genuine happiness but rather a much darker smile of pain and loneliness. This simple smile conveys his inner thoughts and beliefs of how pathetic he believes that he is that he cannot remember something as simple as the last time they smiled together or the last time that they were truly happy.

"It was…." Maggie begins; as she speaks she pulls away from the pillow she had rested against and slides up so that she is lying beside Hal, in the small space beside him.

She moves carefully, and slowly, and once she is beside him she readjusts her right hand so that she is resting her head against it to prop herself up.

"The morning of your eighteenth birthday…." she whispers. "I gave you my father's coin. Then, you went to see your Dad and your brothers. Matt gave you a card, after he tried to give you his skateboard. You told me about it after…" she tells him. She hesitates before she says, "You were happy, then."

"Was I?" Hal asks; his voice is croaky and just above a whisper as he speaks.

He glances down so that he is watching Maggie as she answers, "Yes."

"When else, Maggie?" he asks; he sounds as though he is in need of more memories of happier times and he is so desperately in need of them.

"We'd just arrived in Charleston and you snuck us out of there." she says; as she speaks a small smile as she reminisces on that day appears on her face. "Do you remember?" she asks.

"Mmm…." he mutters, in response.

He could never truly forget such a thing. He holds the memory. It remains with him but it is blurry at times or it moves too fast.

"You led me to this field and we just…" she begins; as she speaks she can picture the fields of violet. "We stayed there for hours, just the two of us." she says, finally.

"We were happy?" he asks; he sounds uncertain as he speaks as though he believes that they were happy but he does not remember with certainty.

As Maggie's eyes slowly fall down to her hands, she replies, "We were, so happy."

"Tell me about the mountains, Maggie." Hal says; he's not really asking her to tell him about these mountains but rather begging that she do because he needs to go there with her.

Maggie glances up to find both of Hal's eyes closed, tightly. He says, softly and with such vulnerability, "I want to go to the mountains with you."

"You have to stay awake, Hal." Maggie answers, quickly.

Hal sighs, deeply, before he admits, "I'm so tired, Maggie…So beyond tired…Worn down."

"We can't go to the mountains yet, Hal." Maggie tells him. "Not today." she adds.

He pauses before he asks, "Tomorrow, then?"

He meets her gaze as he speaks and there is a tiny flash of hope in his eyes as he hopes that somehow tomorrow they may go to these mountains which they will both find such peace and solace in.

"We can't go yet, Hal." Maggie answers. "But, we'll get there one day." she adds.

"I want to be honest with you…." Hal begins, softly. "Because that's all I've wanted." he adds.

"Ok." Maggie replies. "So, be honest." she tells him.

"The thoughts of falling asleep and not waking…." he begins but falls silence as the pain in his back almost consumes him entirely. He lets out a small breath of air before he continues, "The thoughts don't terrify me. I welcome those thoughts, Maggie. The idea of not waking where I sleep…"

Maggie shakes her head, once. "No." she says. "You don't mean that, Hal." she adds.

"But I do." he says, so sadly and with such vulnerability and fear because he knows that he shouldn't feel this way and knowing that he does frightens Hal. "I just…I want to fall asleep with you."

Maggie pauses before she states, "We're not sleeping but you can stay here with me now."

As he continues to hold her gaze, he says, "I don't…I don't understand…You're still here. You're not safe with me."

And as those words pass Hal's lips, the haunting flashbacks of what he has done and what he has failed to do play in his mind.

For as long as he continues to breathe, Hal will never be able to let Maggie go. Perhaps, he believes that he's selfish for holding on to her while he knows that he isn't good for her. But he can't let her go and he can't lose her.

"I'm safer with you than with anyone else." Maggie counters, quickly.

She speaks the truth, despite what Hal says, it's just that he isn't able to see this truth right now.

"But you're not." he replies. "You're really not, Maggie. You're blinded by your thoughts of who I was but it's not who I am, not anymore." he says; as he speaks he shakes his head, slightly, and continues to hold Maggie's gaze.

"You're wrong." Maggie retorts; she sounds so confident, so sure, that Hal is wrong. She does not hesitate to say, "It's not who you are right now, I know. I know that, Hal. But….I'm willing to wait for him to come back."

"He can't come back." Hal announces, with an incredibly impassive tone.

Maggie replies, simply, "He can."

"He can't come back, Maggie." Hal says. His voice cracks, slightly, as he says, "He's dead."

He isn't dead. Maggie won't believe that for a second. She knows that there are parts missing but they can find their way back. Hal can find his way back to who he was. There will always be a few parts missing; Maggie knows this because a few parts of her heart and of who she was fell as victims to her past.

"He isn't dead." Maggie answers. She pauses and draws in a tight breath as she continues, "He's hurting so badly that it feels like death and he wishes that it were death but it isn't. He's got so many years left, so many good years."

Maggie has felt, so many times before in her life, like she had died. She doesn't like to remember those moments, or those years spent where her insides were decaying and her heart was being destroyed by the darkness, because those moments are so powerful still but she knows from her experience that it isn't death.

It will feel like death. You will long for it to be death because if it was death then the pain would pass. But it isn't and the pain doesn't pass. And in time, you'll be so thankful that it wasn't because you'll find someone worth living for again.

"I'm gone." Hal replies, simply and with such a saddened tone.

He doesn't want to be gone. He doesn't want to feel this way but he cannot help what he feels. He deserves to be alone. He doesn't deserve to live after all of the lives that he has taken.

"There is always a way back." Maggie says, with a much louder tone. "I never thought so until I met you…." she begins. As she pauses the tiniest smile appears on her face. "And you…" she lifts her gaze to meet Hal's as she continues, "You gave me a way back. So, let me give you a way back."

When Maggie notices that Hal looks as though he may speak, as though he may answer that there is no way back for him, she speaks because she can give him his way back he just needs to take it.

"It's not up for argument, Hal." Maggie tells him, firmly. "It's happening. You have no say in the matter." she adds, still with the tiniest smile on her features.

Hal sighs, softly, and slowly rests his head back on to a pillow behind him which props his head up still so that he may look upon Maggie. He remains silent as he considers asking the question which has been plaguing his mind since he woke. He was unsure of how or when to ask such a thing and now he feels to be the time to ask it.

"How can you still want to be with me after all that I've done?" he asks.

Hal sounds almost repulsed by the idea of Maggie wanting to remain by his side after everything that he is done. All the blood that he has shed with his own hands and all the pain that he has inflicted on the people whom he only ever wanted to protect.

Maggie does not need a second to consider her answer because it always has and always will be such a simple one.

"We're partners." she says.

Maggie allows a moment of complete silence to pass between them and she is not the one who breaks the silence. Rather, it is Hal who speaks first.

"Maggie?" he says; he looks down to find her already watching him.

"Yes?" she answers.

"Were we in love?" he asks.

Hal does not forget how he felt about Maggie, or how he feels about her now, because he could never forget such things. He isn't asking this question because he forgets how he feels. He is asking this question because he wants to know if she loved him and if she loves him still.

Hal wants to know if, before all of this, Maggie loved him because he loved her.

"Maggie?" he repeats, when all that he receives in response to his question is silence.

"Mmm…." Maggie replies.

She has never spoken _those _words to Hal, and he has never spoken those words to her, and so she is uncertain of how to answer his question.

Hal continues, with a significantly lower voice, "We were….Do you – We weren't? You didn't?"

"What we felt, before…." Maggie begins.

Hal speaks over her, however, with the same low voice. "It what..? Doesn't matter?" he asks. "It does…..I, I changed it. What we felt before. I hurt you…" he adds.

"Hal…." Maggie softly says.

"Physically." he states; as he speaks his eyes glance down to her wrists and despite the sleeves of her jacket which covers them, and her black leather gloves on her hands, he knows the dark bruises which lurk beneath.

"I've hurt so many people and I never wanted to." he says; he begins to breathe heavier and at a quicker pace as he continues, "I didn't. I've killed people, Maggie."

Maggie simply nods. "So have I." she answers.

She knows what Hal is talking about, about how he was forced by the mechs to end the children's suffering, and she doesn't believe that this blood should stain his hands as he was only trying to end their suffering. If he could have saved them, Maggie knows with absolutely no doubt that he would have saved their lives.

"Your circumstances were different." he replies so quickly, as though he didn't have to think about it at all.

But he does think about it. He thinks about her life before, and her circumstances, all of the time and these thoughts cause him to suffer greatly as he thinks of how she would have suffered.

"They were." Maggie answers; her voice shifts into that of a colder one as she speaks. "They killed a part of me, that I'll never get back, and I can't forget that – they deserve what they got." she begins but stops as she takes in another, deeper breath of air which almost hurts her insides.

"A life for a life." she says, coldly. "But…You…." she adds; and her voice shifts completely into a softer one as she continues, "You didn't mean it, Hal. So, don't blame yourself. Blame….Blame who did it…Because it wasn't you. It wasn't …"

Hal sighs, softly, before he admits, "I hate what they did to you."

The anger, and the pain, rises noticeably and so strongly as he begins, "And if you hadn't killed them-"

"Hal." she says, stopping him before he continues.

She knows what he means to say; that if they were here, still, and he had learnt of what they did then he would kill them but Maggie doesn't want to hear it. She can't. She would never ask Hal to do such a thing and she would never want him to. It was her life that they took, so she took theirs. So, their blood will stain hers and not Hal's.

"I just…." he begins.

"I know." she answers. She falls silent for the briefest second before she announces, "Me and you…."

She wants to tell him how she feels but Maggie finds that the words get caught in her throat and never make their way out past her lips.

"We're in this together." she tells him.

And she knows she is taking the coward's way out. She's avoiding the truth; she's avoiding that conversation, because she can't say those words right now. She needs time, and Hal needs his own time to heal.

"We're partners." she adds.

She can't see it on his expression, or in his eyes, but Hal is disappointed. He isn't disappointed by these words, because he needs the reassurance that she will stay and that they're partners, but he'd expected more. He understands, though, because he couldn't truly expect Maggie to say she loved him after all that he had done to her and all that he has put her through.

"Why are you still here?" he asks, and he _almost _sounds cold and accusing as he speaks.

"We're partners." she repeats.

"I hurt you." he states, and he makes no attempt to hide the repulsion that he feels now in regards to how he treated her. "Now." he says, meaning when he was controlled. "And before." he adds, meaning that he hurt her before in Charleston, and when he was with Karen.

She answers softly, "Yes."

"And you still stay with me?" he questions, a frown appearing on his exhausted features as he speaks because he still doesn't understand why she would stay.

She has no obligation to, as his partner, and she deserves better. He doesn't understand why she would put her through such pain to stay with him when he is completely undeserving of her.

"As long as I live…" he begins. He pauses as he directs his gaze down upon Maggie. "I'll never believe I deserve you." he admits, honestly, because this is how he feels.

He feels undeserving and unworthy. He feels tarnished, damaged, broken and shattered.

Maggie simply, and with a saddened expression forming on her pale face, she says, "If you let yourself believe that you're undeserving….if you let yourself believe that the guilt that your feeling is rightfully yours, then you've lost to the aliens, Hal. They've taken who you are – and so, they've already won. Don't let them win, Hal."

"But they have won, Maggie!" he says, raising his voice a little louder than he'd wanted to. "They've taken part of my mind-" he begins.

"No." Maggie replies, cutting him off. "They haven't taken it, they've just weakened it…" she states. She adds, with a softer tone, "Don't let them take your soul and your heart, too, Hal."

* * *

**A/N: Hi there,  
My apologies for the late update, late-ish, and I also apologise in advance for any spelling errors you may find. I do check the chapters thoroughly but I do always tend to miss something.**

**Dear Elena, guest reviewer, who posted on chapter 57;  
Hi! It makes me very happy to read that you not only loved it but that you also thought it was one of the best chapters yet - Thank you so much! Also, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. :) Thanks for reading.**

**Enjoy.  
& Thanks for reading.**


	59. Wandering in the dark

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

The morning sun, which wakes Tom from his rest, sets softly into the room which he and Anne share. This soft light allows the two of them to find a few moments of peace before the day begins. They find this peace and comfort in the silence and warmth of the others arms.

This peace doesn't last for long because they can't allow it to. They both have much to do in this new day and so they move slowly from their bed, almost reluctant to leave the others arms, and dress quickly so that they may begin with the new day.

They move down the hallway, together, towards the direction of Hal's room. After Tom checks in on Hal, this morning, he will leave in search of Ben while Anne will leave Hal, to rest, while she tends to her many other patients.

Just as they reach the room, they find Broderick Sweeney stepping out of it with an incredibly impassive expression on his features. As he catches sight of Tom moving down the hallway he stiffens up noticeably but otherwise remains silent.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asks, loudly. He pauses before he calls out, "Hal?!"

"Professor Mason." Logan announces, as he steps out of Hal's bedroom. He steps to the side so that he may allow Tom to step in to Hal's empty bedroom.

"Where is he?" Tom asks, after he steps through into the room to find Hal's room empty. "Where is he?!" he repeats; his tone is that of a much louder, angrier one as he cannot contain the anger which he feels upon finding his son absence from his room where he should have been resting.

"We were hoping that you could tell us where he was, Professor Mason." Logan replies.

Somehow, he manages to remain calm and almost emotionless even with Tom Mason angrily yelling at him.

"What-You- I …." Tom begins; he talks quickly, stuttering, before he says, "Where is my son?"

"You're telling me, Tom Mason, that you did not remove your son Hal Mason from his room after learning that we wished to speak to him about matters I'm sure you're aware of." Logan says, with an incredibly impassive tone. "How you came to learn this information, I'm not certain but I do believe that you had a role in this." Logan adds.

"That's ridiculous!" Tom replies, loudly. "I did no such thing! If anyone has done anything, it's your men." he counters.

Lourdes, who has just stepped in to the conversation, turns towards Anne and pauses before she asks, "What's going on?"

Anne sighs before she turns to Lourdes and softly replies, "Hal's gone."

Lourdes lowers her gaze, briefly, and for a moment she remains silent. When she finally speaks, her voice is much lower.

"He was here this morning." Lourdes informs them.

These words catch Tom Mason's complete attention and he glances towards Lourdes, a mixed and incredibly complicated expression on his tired features.

"He was?" Tom asks; he sounds hopeful but at the same time fearful as he believes, briefly, that Hal may have left him just as Ben had left him last time.

"Yes. I…I know I should've come to you, Anne…." Lourdes begins. She sighs softly before she continues, "But the situation was under control."

"What situation, Lourdes?" Anne asks; she remains soft and calm as she speaks because she knows how capable Lourdes is and she believes her when she says that the situation was under control.

"Hal wasn't well." Lourdes admits. She continues, "He was delirious, and sweating, and he was in a lot of pain. I re-dressed his wounds and put him on some stronger meds. Then, I checked in a few hours later and he was sleeping."

Tom glances, quickly, from Lourdes to Anne and Anne finds that he is wearing a deeply panicked expression on his features. His breathing deepens, noticeably, and he takes a step back away from the Marines because he feels so enclosed as he'd stood within their group. He moves into Hal's room and lifts his hands to his head; after he runs his hands through his hair and down to the back of his neck he turns around to find Anne standing before him.

She wears a sympathetic yet reassuring expression on her gentle features. "Tom…." she begins, softly, as she steps towards him. "We'll find him, okay." she tells him.

But he doubts her because he fears the worst will happen. He fears that Hal has left him and as he has tried to leave he has caused himself further injury or pain.

"Okay?" she says. "I promise you, we'll find him." she whispers, soothingly.

* * *

Hal shifts his gaze away from where it had rested, on his hands, towards Maggie and he finds her to be already watching him with a great intensity. He holds her gaze and remains silent for a moment.

Despite all that she has said, he does not feel deserving of her and he never will. He believes that the guilt that weighs down upon him is his guilt. Hal also believes that the blood, which has stained him so irreversibly, will stay with him forever just as the pain, which almost consumes him entirely and causes him to long to sleep and not wake, will always remain.

He longs for things to return to how they were, before this. He wants to be happy with Maggie but know he believes that happiness is something that he will never truly feel again because he could never allow himself to feel such a thing after all that he has done.

"You once told me…." he begins; his voice barely above a whisper as he speaks. "That you never thought that you'd recovered from the life that you had before." he says; he watches her carefully and with concern as he speaks.

He holds her gaze as he continues, "Until you met me."

Maggie never believed that she would recover from _before_ until she met Hal Mason. He changed everything, for the better, and if she was given the choice to do it all again she would. She wouldn't change a thing; not a moment.

"You survived." he adds.

These words cause Maggie to stiffen up, noticeably, and as she does she continues to hold his gaze.

"No." she says, simply.

She didn't survive it. She never stood a chance in surviving her life before. She was too damaged, too broken, too weak and too fragile then to survive everything that she went through with her family, the cancer, Reece and the other men that she found herself spending time with.

And then, she had met Pope's gang. All and any hope that she'd had at surviving had vanished after she'd met them. She didn't survive her time with them because she couldn't. There was nothing left of her to survive it.

"I didn't." she tells him, sadly but honestly because it's the truth. "There's a difference between surviving and scraping through." she says.

There is such a difference between surviving and scraping through. Maggie doesn't count herself to be a survivor because she doesn't feel as though she has survived anything. She didn't survive the cancer because it could come back at any day. She became a victim to the cancer just as she'd become a victim to the draining, haunting years that would come after that.

Hal draws in a tight breath before he admits, "I don't know if I can scrape through…If I don't have you."

And these next words spoken by Maggie mean so much more to Hal than she believes is possible.

She pauses before she says, softly, "You'll always have me."

She smiles at him, softly, now because she knows truly, in her heart, that he will always have her because she could never leave him. Hal manages a small smile but Maggie doesn't believe that it is real.

His expression shifts into an almost unreadable one but Maggie can see flickers of something similar to relief but she also sees guilt and she hates knowing that he feels a guilt that should not belong to him.

"How are you feeling?" Maggie asks, filling the moment of silence which had appeared between them.

"Fine." he answers, unconvincingly.

Hal wants to feel better; there is a part of him that wants to feel something other than pain. But, there is another part of him which believes that the pain is rightfully his and that he should continue to feel it for as long as he should continue to live.

Hal turns his head, slightly, so that he is looking directly into Maggie's gaze. He sighs, softly, closing his eyes as he does and as he opens his eyes he finds that she remains beside him and that she continues to watch him.

After his haunting dream, the previous night, Hal longs to be close to Maggie. He longs to hold her and to feel that she is real and to know that she isn't going to leave him or die in his arms.

Hal had felt such emptiness, and such loneliness, in those moments that he'd thought that he had lost her. He can't lose her again. He isn't sure that he would survive such a thing.

He moves, slowly and cautiously, towards Maggie as though he longs to be closer to her and to kiss her. As if she had known already what Hal was going to do, Maggie closes her eyes.

"Hal….." she whispers, softly, before she allows a sigh to pass her lips.

She can't do this, right now. She can't go back to how they were before. They can't go back, not yet anyway. Perhaps, in time, there is a chance that they can go back to how they were before.

He stops, before her, resting his head against hers he draws in a sharp, painful breath and closes his eyes. He understands her reasons for wanting distance. He accepts her reasons but he loathes this distance between them.

"Maggie…" he answers, weakly.

"Hal, don't." Maggie tells him, simply, and as the words pass her lips she glances up towards the door which she could have sworn she'd seen turn.

She moves quickly and with no hesitation whatsoever; she gets down off of the seat and pulls out her two guns, holding one in each hand, she steps towards the door.

Hal feels weak, feeble, fragile and useless as he moves so that he is sitting on the edge of the bed. He has no weapon to protect Maggie. He can't protect Maggie, right now, and knowing that causes him a great deal of pain because all that he has ever wanted to do is protect her.

She steps towards the door slowly, and with caution, while she continues to hold her guns firmly in her hands. As the door opens, she takes a slight step back and prepares to protect herself against whoever many enter.

Dai steps through the door, with a rifle firmly in his hands, and as he catches sight of Maggie he frowns slightly. He drops his weapon, quickly and raises his hands slowly in the air as he notes the hostility on Maggie's features.

Dai isn't entirely sure who it is Maggie was expecting to come through the door but he's just glad he wasn't one of those guys.

"It's just me, Dai. Just me, Maggie." Dai tells her; as he speaks he glances towards Hal who he finds resting on the edge of his seat.

Dai takes in a deep, long breath as he catches sight of Hal. He doesn't look good. He looks like a former shadow of his self; pale, weak, limp and so very skinny. He looks injured and unwell and seeing Hal in such a state is a shock to Dai because he has deteriorated so quickly.

"Dai?" Tom calls out; as he speaks he steps through the door towards the gazebo, with his rifle in his hands, and finds Dai standing before Maggie and Hal.

Ben steps in, behind Tom, and he is also armed but he does not drop his weapon as he views Maggie and Hal standing before them.

Tom sighs, loudly, and closes his eyes briefly. "Hal…." he begins. "What are you – What are you two doing, out here?" he asks.

"You okay, brother?" Dai asks.

Hal simply nods. He doesn't speak. He doesn't lift his gaze from where it rests, holding his brother's gaze. Ben stares at him with an impassive expression and with empty eyes and seeing his brother watching him in such a way only deepens Hal's pain and causes him greater suffering.

"What-Why…." Tom begins, with a louder voice, but he stops and releases a sigh. "Why are you out here, Hal? Do you have any idea how worried-" Tom begins.

Maggie stops Tom from speaking because she doesn't believe that he should be directing his anger over the situation, and his fear at the thought of losing Hal, towards Hal who was not the one who suggested that they leave the library.

"It's my fault, Tom." Maggie announces. She places her guns back into their place as she continues, "It was my idea. He wasn't well, and I thought-"

"You thought what, Maggie?" Tom asks; he takes a step towards her as he continues, "That taking him away from the one place where he can receive proper and constant medical attention and taking him to a deserted, dangerous gazebo would be a good idea?"

His voice becomes louder as he continues, "What would make you think that, in anyway, this would be the best place for him to be right now, Maggie? At what point did that cross your mind? He's not well."

"I'm right here." Hal says, but Tom does not seem to hear him.

"He was suffocating in there, Tom. He needed air." Maggie replies, quickly, because she knows all too well what it is like to feel as though you are suffocating and have no way out.

But she had found Hal's way out; the gazebo, the escape from the library, had been his way out and for a moment she believed that he had almost lost all and any feelings of suffocation which he had felt inside the library.

"He isn't well, Maggie." Tom says, taking a step towards her as he speaks.

"He needed air, Tom." Maggie repeats, loudly.

"I'm sorry – tell me, Maggie, when were you given the right to determine what is right and what isn't for _my_ son?" he asks; the fear that he'd felt upon finding Hal gone echoes through Tom's loud but unsteady voice as he continues, "You don't have that right. I'm his father. I make that decision. He isn't well. He needs to be safe; somewhere he can be properly cared for."

"Where would that be, Tom?" Maggie counters, quickly. "Locked up in a room with no air, suffocating? You weren't there. It doesn't do him any good." she adds, with a more defensive tone.

"I'm still right here." Hal announces; as he speaks he stands slowly from where he had previously rested and steps towards Maggie.

"What were you thinking?" Tom asks, directing his gaze towards Hal. "You need to rest." he adds.

"No." Hal replies. "What I need is to not be here. I can't be here." Hal says.

This is how he feels. He feels as though he cannot stay with the Second Mass because he isn't good for them. He doesn't belong with them, right now, like he used to. He is responsible for almost being the one to lead them into their deaths.

"Yes, you can." Tom replies, with such hope, as he steps towards Hal. He lowers his gun completely as he says, with such a soft and caring voice, "We can make it through this. We can, Hal, but we've just gotta stay strong."

"You keep saying _we_ can do this or _we_ can do that." Hal says, loudly. He continues with a faster, louder voice. "You can't do anything, Dad. You can't fix this. You didn't do anything. I can't – I can't be here, alright? I don't want to be here."

"You're not leaving." Tom replies, quickly. With a firm tone, he says, "You're not going anywhere."

Hal draws in a sharp breath before a grimace spreads onto his features. "I have to do this." he says. "I have to go… because I can't be here."

"No, you don't and you're not." Tom announces, loudly. "You're not leaving. You may be eighteen years old, Hal, but you're still my son and I'm not letting you go. I won't lose you again. I won't let them hurt you again."

"No. I'm not losing another of my boys." Tom adds, simply, and these are the last words that he speaks before he steps out of the gazebo and leaves Hal, Ben, Maggie and Dai to their silence.

* * *

Hal had, at first, refused the offer of the wheelchair as he had wanted to build his strength by walking back to the library but he'd quickly found himself in the wheelchair as he'd learnt that, according to Maggie, the option of walking back to the library was not up for argument.

He knows how worried Maggie is for him but he wishes that she would not worry and stress so much because he knows she isn't as well as she once was. He knows that she needs to heal too but she won't let herself heal properly while she is so focused and concerned about ensuring that he heals.

And Hal's not entirely sure that he's ever going to heal. His body feels so weak and broken. His mind feels feeble and shattered. He feels such agonizing pain in his waking hours and when he is lucky enough to allow sleep to take him, the dark and haunting dreams claim him and he can't fight them because he isn't as strong as he was.

Hal hates knowing that he is missing a part of who he was. He hates that he is not who he was before and he hates knowing that the aliens took that part of him.

His memories of his family, and all of the good things in his life, would always keep Hal going especially in the much darker times when he'd believed that he was going to die. Those memories were his source of light and strength but now they are blurry, and parts are forgotten, and there are parts where he doesn't feel anything.

And Hal doesn't want to feel anything. He doesn't want to feel the utter and complete disgust that he feels, towards himself, because of all that he has done. He doesn't want to feel the pain, the guilt or the fear which accompanies this disgust. He wants to be consumed by the darkness. He wants to allow it to take his mind, his heart and his soul entirely and to never return it. He wants to feel nothing.

And in these moments, where he desperately desires to feel absolutely nothing at all, he is reminded of his father, his brothers, and then of Maggie and he wants to feel _something_ because of them.

He wants to feel happiness with them, like he once did. He wants to feel worthy of them. He wants to feel as though he is their protector. He wants to feel loved by them. And these feelings cause Hal to want to feel something and so he is forever torn between the tempting darkness and the flickering hope of his family.

"Ah, so I see, you've found him." Broderick says, as he steps towards Tom Mason who is leading the way for the small group that had gone out in search of Hal.

He casts a look over them before he lowers his gaze towards Hal, who he does feel such sympathy for. He presses his lips together before he begins, "We can re-"

But the words don't pass his lips because Logan steps out, looking just as impassive as earlier. He looks down to Hal, and then to Tom Mason, before he asks, "You'll be coming with us then, Hal?"

"No." Maggie answers, loudly and firmly.

Logan glances towards the woman pushing the wheelchair and he holds her gaze for the briefest moment before he looks towards Tom Mason who has just finished walking and now stands a few before them, outside of the door that Maggie and Hal had exited that morning.

"Coming where?" Hal asks.

"Just have a few questions that we'd like to ask you." Broderick informs him. "That's all." he adds.

"No." Maggie repeats.

"I'm sorry, miss, but it isn't up for question. It's been approved by Captain Weaver." Logan tells her, holding her gaze as he speaks.

"He's not going with you."

"Logan, please….He needs to be cared for."

"He has been cared for, Tom Mason." Logan counters, quickly. He pauses before he states, with a much louder tone, "We have given him a substantial amount of time to recover from his injuries which were inflicted on him only after he shot members of The Second Mass. We wished to take him as a prisoner but decided otherwise. Considering what was inside of his head, I do believe that requesting to speak to him in private is a most reasonable suggestion."

"Okay." Hal agrees.

As he speaks, Tom and Maggie glance towards him, quickly, both uncertain of why he would agree to such a thing.

"Okay?" Tom checks, a frown appearing on his features.

Hal glances up to Tom, meeting his gaze, as he answers, "It's just a couple questions, Dad."

"Hal…." Tom begins, softly, stepping towards Hal as he speaks. He pauses before he says, "You don't have to do this."

"It's now or later…." Hal mutters. "And I'd rather get it over with." he adds.

"Hal…." Maggie begins, in objection.

She moves from where she had stood, behind Hal pushing his chair, so that she may stand in front of him. She wears a deeply confused expression as she looks down upon him. He meets her gaze, half-way, and softly sighs but otherwise remains silent.

"Hal." she repeats. "You don't-" she begins.

"I do. I have to do it alone." he answers, simply, and that's all he says before he lowers his hands down to the wheels on the side of his chair so that he may push himself.

He needs to show them that he isn't as feeble or fragile as they believe him to be. He needs to show himself that he isn't broken or damaged and that he is capable of doing things alone.

* * *

"Captain Weaver." Anne says, as she reaches Captain Weaver's open door.

He glances up from where he stands, kneeling over a map on his table, and as he catches sight of Doctor Glass he steps away from the table and moves towards Anne.

"Doctor Glass." he begins. "How may I help you?" he asks.

Anne had, after learning from a clearly upset and angered Tom that Hal had returned and he did not appear any better, decided that she would speak to the Captain about the possibility of taking Hal to a hospital where they may be able to properly care for him.

"I hope so." she answers, softly, her hands clasped together as she continues, "Captain…Hal isn't well. He isn't healing as he should be."

Weaver expression noticeably changes into that of a concerned one as he takes in Anne's words. He remains silent as he moves past her and closes the door to his room. He glances back at her with an uncertain look on his face.

"Is there anything that I can do, to help?" Weaver asks, with a look of genuine concern for Hal spread across his face.

"Yes, I think there is." Anne tells him. She pauses before she continues, with a softer, "I think it would be best for Hal to move to a proper hospital. We have supplies, and medical equipment, but I just feel that-"

"I can't do that, Doctor Glass." Weaver says, quickly. "And, before you go jumping to any quick conclusions about my reasons for saying no, it's not because I don't care for Hal because I do. He's a good fighter and a good man. And the bug that crawl- it doesn't change anything." Weaver tells her; he is careful to hold her gaze as he speaks these honest words.

He does care for Hal. He worries about his well-being and about Tom's well-being, but he can't move them to a hospital because they were ambushed at the last hospital that they took shelter in and he can't allow them to move to a hospital.

"I don't understand, Captain." Anne admits.

"We're moving forward, Doctor Glass. The nearest hospital is miles, and miles, back and we can't go backwards." he replies, quickly. He pauses, to draw in a sharp breath, before he says, "You've always managed in the past, to take care of the wounded properly and with great care. You'll continue to manage. I'm sorry, I am, but we can only go forward from here. We have to keep going or we'll fall behind."

* * *

Hal glances up from the dark wooden floors, of the room that he had been led to by the Marines, to find the men he now knows as Broderick and Logan watching him intently as they wait in silence for him to answer their question.

But he hadn't heard their question. Instead, he had heard himself speaking.

_He is a tortured soul…._

He had spoken those words, he could recall them passing his lips, but he had never wished to speak them. Who it was that he was speaking to, who it was he was calling a tortured soul, continued to remain unknown to Hal for the time.

"Uh…." Hal begins; he pauses to clear his throat, by coughing several times. "I'm sorry." he mutters. "I didn't catch that." he tells them.

_The pain that you're feeling is a weakness, _the voice echoes cruelly in his mind.

His eyes move, quickly, around the room as though he is expecting to find someone or something else speaking to him.

Broderick takes a slight step towards Hal as he suggests, "Why don't you start by telling us what it is that you remember?"

"What I remember?" Hal repeats.

Broderick simply nods, in response, as he waits silently and patiently for Hal to speak.

"Ah…." Hal begins, drawing out the word. "I don't…." he begins.

_I don't understand. How can you be saddened by what you didn't know existed until seconds before you lost it?_

"You don't…what?" Logan asks, taking a large step towards Hal as he continues to watch him so very closely and carefully.

_We both know what your heart holds and it is certainly not gold._

Hal's breathing begins to deepen, noticeably, and his chest rises and falls quicker as he presses his pale lips together and attempts to focus on the reality instead of these haunting memories and voices which he can hear echoing through his mind, replaying loudly and constantly until each and every word is burned into his mind so that he will never forget a single letter.

"I don't…." he begins, pausing as he draws in a much longer, sharper breath of air.

_I don't want to lose Henry, I don't want to lose Matt, and I don't want to lose you._

He can almost see Maggie before him as he hears these words – these words sound new to him. For a moment, he feels as though he has not heard them before but he has.

_Henry._

"Hal?" Broderick calls out. "Hal?" he repeats.

The voice queries, _He did not tell you, did he, Ben Mason?_

"Yeah…." Hal replies, quickly, as he lifts his eyes to meet Broderick's gaze.

"I understand that it's difficult." Broderick begins, with a genuine expression of understanding on his features.

_It's difficult to miss something that never was._

"I just- I just…." Hal begins. "There are parts that I remember." he says, honestly, because there are moments that he remembers.

"So, start from there." Logan tells him.

"What do you want me to tell you?" Hal asks, directing his gaze to Logan.

As he speaks he lifts his right hand to his pounding forehead and gently rubs the side of his head.

_Should I tell you that I want to be part of this freak show family that you're so desperately trying to piece together?_

Those words, as Hal remembers hearing them and as he remembers saying them, cause his eyes to falter before falling down to the floor entirely. He remembers those words passing his lips. He remembers Maggie's expression as he had spoken them.

And, as he closes his eyes he can see the pained expression on her features and the tears that fell onto her cheeks as he had spat such cruel and venomous words at her.

_You cannot hide from the evil that seeps in through every part of you._

"You can't hide from it, Hal." Logan tells him, honestly, because he knows how difficult it is to forget moments in your life that permanently change you.

And it's not that Logan doesn't feel sympathy for Hal Mason because he does – he just doesn't feel a lot of it and he doesn't allow himself to feel it. He doesn't allow himself to feel anything. His job is to be a fighter. They're living in an world filled with aliens, who are trying to remove the human race, and so he does not have the time to feel sympathy for Hal Mason who could still potentially be a threat to them and could bring further pain upon them.

"You shot two of your own men. You fired at another." Logan says, loudly.

_His deepest and innermost fears…_

"I didn't – I didn't want to do that." Hal replies, quickly, as he somehow manages to meet Logan's gaze. "I don't…." he begins but falls silent.

_I don't miss what could have been because it wasn't._

"Hal….." Broderick begins, only pausing slightly as he sighs. "We know that it's hard." he tells him but in reality he has no understanding whatsoever of how hard it is for Hal to recall his memories or how difficult and painful it is for him to relive these memories which do not feel like they are his memories at all.

_We both know who you really are, inside._

"You don't." Hal answers quietly, simply, and honestly because they don't know.

There is no possible way that they could understand or know how hard it is because hard is such an understatement. It's unbearable. It's achingly painful. It destroys parts of him that he doesn't care if he gets back because he doesn't feel deserving of it. He feels worthless, disgusting, and repulsive and on top of this he feels a guilt that cannot be lifted.

_I will kill your father, Benjamin. I will drag out his death and cause him pain in ways you have not imagined to be possible. All the while, he will be screaming out your name._

"There are…flashes…" Hal admits, softly, lowering his gaze down onto the ground.

He stares down at the ground as though he is watching a scene unfold before his open eyes and he is but he doesn't want to watch this scene, he doesn't want to relive it, but he's helpless.

_Your purity and your light, it's been corrupted._

"Of light." he adds, pausing briefly before he says, "Of memories that aren't mine."

_Your heart is rotted to the very core with filth, fear, cowardice and an evil which can never be truly washed away or removed from you. _

"And I don't want to." he tells them.

"You don't want to what, Hal?" Broderick asks.

"Hide from it." he whispers.

_You exist within it as it exists within you._

"So, don't." Logan says, with a much louder voice. "Tell us what you remember, Hal. Tell us everything." he adds. "Our highest priority is the protection of the Second Mass." he announces.

_They are lost, to us. _

"No." Hal answers, simply.

_They are lost to you. _

Hal begins, "I shouldn't…"

"Tell me about it, Hal." Broderick tells him, with a softer and more understanding voice. "We want to help you, okay? That's what we want. To help you and to keep the Second Mass safe, alright?" he asks.

_Tell me about him, your boy; you said he had beautiful eyes._

"There's no point, is there?" he asks, with such a blank expression on his features.

_The blood is always on our hands._

"Look, Hal…." Logan sighs.

_He's afraid_.

"I can't hurt them." he whispers, so softly, that they only just manage to hear his words.

_Don't hurt her, _he pleads.

"You're not hurting them, Hal." Logan says. "By talking about it, you're not hurting anyone." he adds.

"I remember…." he begins. "Flashes but they aren't clear." he admits. He pauses, drawing in a deep breath, as he shifts his gaze from where it had previously rested on the floor towards Logan and Broderick.

"The battle, at the warehouse." he says, softly.

_There were no attachments, _the voice cruelly taunts.

"Ok." Logan nods. He takes a step towards Hal as he suggests, "Let's start from there and move forward."

_Maggie, look at me,_ he begs her.

"Maggie…." Hal whispers, so softly, and as he closes his eyes he can see her.

"You remember seeing Maggie, at the warehouse, do you, Hal?" Logan questions.

_I'm right here, Karen, _he calls out.

Hal nods his head, quickly, as he slowly reopens his eyes.

"I remember that…." he begins.

_Washing it away from the surface doesn't remove it from our skin._

"We were ambushed. The skitters….They came out of nowhere…." he says, as the events of the night slowly become clearer and clearer.

He hears Maggie's voice, whispering in his ear, _What if we don't make it out of here?_

They didn't make it out of there. The Hal Mason who entered that warehouse never returned, he didn't make it out of there, and recalling these moments cause Hal great agony and pain.

_It's much deeper than that._

"Okay." Logan nods. "And the bug, it was transferred to you…How exactly?" he questions.

_Golden hearted Maggie is pregnant, with your child, Hal Mason._

"Karen…." he says, and he feels so sick just speaking her name as he remembers all that she has done. "She, uh…She's harnessed." he tells them.

_His fears are that you will suffer what he suffered._

"Like you, and your brother, Ben Mason?" Logan asks.

Hal shakes his head, quickly. "No, no, uh…." he begins. He pauses as he draws in such a long breath of air, so that it may cool his insides.

_It's cold, down here._

"We're de-harnessed." he says. He hesitates before he continues, "She, uh…Hers is gone, now, but it was on for…Too long."

_I will have the pleasure of watching them die, of killing them myself as, I did the other human._

"The aliens, control her." he mutters. "And, she….She….Kissed me. That's – that's how…." he adds, with a much lower voice.

_No feelings._

Broderick suggests, "Alright, Hal, so tell us what you remember next."

"I don't see much." he answers.

_What's the darkest thing you've ever done?_

"But, you do see some things, right? You'd have to." Logan cuts in, loudly. "Hal, I need to know if you remember anything else. The Second Mass could be in danger, at this moment, and I need you to at least try to remember." he adds.

_You are nothing like I thought you were._

"The bug's….Thoughts or plans?" Hal asks, lowering his gaze slowly down towards his hands. "I don't – It wasn't like that. It was…I didn't feel anything." he admits.

_You're morning, so mourn, but I won't because I have nothing to mourn._

"It was….The last thing I remember is….The warehouse. And, I just – darkness came, next, and I'm surrounded by it still." Hal answers, softly.

He is surrounded by the darkness, still. He's alone in the darkness. He deserves this loneliness.

_I will kill you, first, and Professor Mason._

"So, when you fired and shot at your comrades, you didn't have any control whatsoever?" Logan questions.

"I didn't have any control at all!" Hal exclaims, with a much louder tone than he'd intended to. He meets Logan's gaze as he continues, "I didn't have any control over my mind, or over my body, and I – I didn't….I don't have any control now. The memories come to me but they aren't clear and I don't- I'm not…"

_I'm not good for him, that's why I had to give him up, _Maggie whispers.

And Hal cannot forget those words because he doesn't feel as though he is good for his father, his brother's, or for Maggie. He doesn't believe that he is good enough for anyone. Perhaps, it's better if he gives them up – if he gives up on himself.

_Do you miss him?_

"Every day, I try and every day – I don't find anything new." he admits.

"You're weakened, and tired, and it's to be expected that you don't recall much." Broderick says, nodding once, before he sighs and runs his right hand through his hair and down to the back of his neck.

Hal doesn't hear Broderick, though, instead he hears Maggie whispering.

_You're unexpected, Hal Mason._

* * *

Maggie, who had been anxiously and angrily pacing the corridor in search of Hal who she had been unable to follow to his room due to Anne momentarily convincing her otherwise, glances up towards Isaac who she finds moving down the corridor towards her.

"Isaac." she calls out.

As he catches sight of her, he frowns slightly. He begins to speak but Maggie speaks, loudly, over him.

"How could you let this happen?" she asks, accusingly.

"What?" he answers.

As he speaks, he moves as quickly as he can towards her.

"They're interrogating Hal." she informs him.

"Are they?" he asks. "I didn't know." he adds.

"You didn't know? Really?" Maggie asks.

"No, I didn't know." he tells her, honestly, because he didn't know that they would be doing it now. "What room are they in?" he asks.

"I don't know." she sighs. "We got separated." she adds.

"I know." he tells her, as he takes a step down the corridor. "I know where they are." he says.

"How?" Maggie questions; she doesn't move from where she stands.

"Well, I don't know with certainty, but I've got an idea." he adds.

"Come on, then, Maggie. Are you coming to get him, with me?" Isaac asks; he stops walking and turns back so that he may look at her.

"You're risking-" she begins.

"Nothing." he tells her.

"Your brother." Maggie answers.

Isaac simply nods, at this, before he says, with a hint of that goofy grin she remembers, "What are friends for?"

* * *

_In your heart…_

"Look, Hal…." Logan begins. He pauses before he continues, "I'm not sure if you're purposely wasting our time, or just accidentally wasting it, but you are wasting it and if the aliens are still a threat-"

"They'll always be a threat, to us." Hal retorts, quickly. "That's why we have to fight them." he adds.

_And in your mind…_

"In your mind, you could be holding vital information, Hal-" Logan says.

Hal replies, quickly, "But I'm not!"

_You know what and who you truly are._

Hal shakes his head, quickly, as he draws in a deep breath of air. "I don't hold any information." he declares, loudly. With a voice that is still loud, and still holds such pain, he continues, "I don't hold anything! I don't remember it clearly."

_When you face your demons…_

"I don't know what you want from me!" Hal announces, loudly, with a strained voice. "I don't- I don't know what you're expecting to get from me because –" he begins.

"Hal, it's alright, lad." Broderick tells him, taking a slight step forward towards him. He continues, with a calmer voice, Just take a br-"

"No." Hal answers, loudly, cutting Broderick off. "No." he repeats.

He lifts his right hand to his chest, pointing at himself, as he says with such a pained expression, "I can't help you."

_Don't hurt her._

"I can't – I can't …." he begins, with a softer voice.

_You cannot deny them as they are part of you._

"It's alright, Hal." Broderick says.

Hal slowly shakes his head and lowers his gaze to the floor.

_You always had me,_ he hears Maggie's soft voice in his ear.

"I…." he begins, softly, falling silent quickly. He pauses, closing his eyes, as he says, "I have nothing for you. I had…"

_Right from the beginning,_ she tells him.

They are so far from the beginning, now, and Hal isn't sure if they can ever go back to how they were or who they were before.

Everything between he and Maggie, and Hal and his family, is so different now. He's not sure if he can go back to who he was before all of this. He's not sure he could go back, even if he found a way, because he doesn't believe that he deserves a second chance or his family's love.

He knows that his family loves him unconditionally and always but that doesn't mean he feels worthy of it, because he doesn't. He doesn't feel deserving of their love and he certainly doesn't feel worthy of Maggie's love.

Logan and Broderick glance up, simultaneously, as the door to their room opens and Isaac comes to stand before them. He steps to the side, allowing Maggie to enter the room.

"What are you two doing in here?" Broderick asks.

"You shouldn't be here." Logan says, quickly, as he steps towards the two of them.

"You shouldn't be doing this." Isaac counters. "He's not well." he adds.

"He's well enough." Logan retorts, quickly.

"Maggie…." Hal begins, as he watches her move towards where he sits on his chair in the middle of the room.

"What – What are you…." he begins but stops as he is unsure of what to say.

"It's alright, Hal." she tells him.

And those simple words convey that which Maggie had previously been able to keep hidden – she seems him as something broken, something fragile, in need of careful protecting until it is able to be fixed.

"Go on, Maggie, get out of here." Isaac tells her; as he speaks he glances towards Maggie to find her standing behind Hal, ready to wheel him from the room.

"My order-" Logan begins; he is careful to hold Isaac's gaze as he speaks.

"He isn't well." Isaac repeats. He pauses before he loudly says, "Now, Maggie."

Isaac moves, as Maggie does, and steps so that he is purposefully blocking her path to wheeling Hal out of the room. He meets Maggie's gaze, first, and then slowly shifts his gaze to meet Hal's.

He remains silent, and appears to be so infuriated, for a moment as he considers what his next moves will be.

"Our conversation is far from done, Hal Mason." Logan tells him.

"I know." Hal replies.

And with those words spoken, Logan steps slowly to the side allowing Hal to be wheeled from the room. Logan glances towards Broderick, shooting him a look that he understands because he has seen it plenty of times before. Broderick nods, slightly, before he steps out of the room allowing the two brothers a moment alone.

"I know-" Isaac begins, as he takes a step towards Logan.

Logan turns towards him, quickly, as he says, "Get out of my sight before I-"

"Say something you'll regret?" Isaac asks. He tilts his head ever so slightly to the right before he says, "Little late for that."

"Get out of my sight while I still allow you to." Logan says, warning him.

As they hold each other's silent, unwavering gaze for a moment Isaac wonders how they ever came to be so hostile towards each other. It wasn't always like this. Isaac hadn't been the one who had first become hostile towards Logan. Logan had become distant; he'd pulled away, and with distance came hostility and an inability to bond as brothers should.

Isaac steps away, as he always does, and leaves his brother to the loneliness that they have both come so accustomed to.

* * *

After Anne had finished tending to her patients, she had found herself in her room with Tom which was lit up by a softer but darker light than this morning; she had found Tom resting on the end of the bed as she had found him sitting so many times before.

She had come to find Tom for many reasons; to see him, to be with him, to ensure that he was in a good way but there was also something that she needed to speak to Tom about.

She takes a seat beside him, running her hand softly and soothingly over his back, and asks him how he is and how Hal is.

"I'm just…." Tom begins. He sighs, deeply, closing his eyes as he admits, "I'm struggling, Anne, with Hal and Ben and Matt being gone – I miss him so much. I can't – I'm struggling."

"It's to be expected, Tom, with everything that's going on." Anne answers softly, gently, as she runs soothes his shoulders with her soft hands. "Ben is fine, so is Matt. And Hal will get there in the end. He's a fighter, like you. He won't give up without a fighter."

"With time it'll get easier, Tom, I promise." she says, whispering gentle promises in his ear. "I promise, in time, you won't struggle. You'll be stronger." she tells him.

And he wants to believe her. He wants to believe that in time things will get easier, that he will be stronger, and that Hal will be stronger but time is not a luxury or a certainty in this world and your next hour could be your last.

"Tom…." Anne begins.

Her tone, the almost timidness about it, causes Tom to feel a sense of immediate worry. He glances towards Anne, meeting her gaze quickly, and he casts a look over her.

"What is it?" he asks, frowning with worry. "Anne, are you okay?" he asks, his voice ringing with panic.

"I'm worried, Tom." she admits.

She pauses, falling silent, before the words come together and pass her lips quickly. "I'm worried about Hal and Maggie." she says. "I've just… After everything that has happened, after everything they've been through. They're young, vulnerable and they're hurting and they need an outlet for it all and I don't feel that we've provided them with one."

"Anne…." Tom sighs, softly.

"Hal is exhausted, and confused, and he has been through hell, Tom." Anne says, with such a soft yet tired voice. "He has no recollection of his memories and what he does remember causes him great stress." she adds. She pauses, briefly, before she says, "On top of that, they are both dealing with the loss of a child"

Anne draws in such a long, tight breath of air before she admits, "I know how hard losing a child is. It's difficult at any stage. It changes you."

Tom gently pulls both of his hands into his and he holds them so softly and so reassuringly.

"If you don't deal with that loss, it can shatter you." Anne whispers.

Tom presses a gentle kiss to Anne's forehead before he pulls her into an embrace. He holds her in his arms for a moment, remaining silent as he does.

"I know…." he says, because he does know how painful such a loss can be.

"Have you spoken to Hal?" Anne asks, resting her head against Tom's chest.

"About…?" Tom asks. He replies, with a much lower voice, "No. I haven't had the chance. And after it happened, he wasn't….It wasn't him."

"He never had the chance to deal with it…" she says; speaking the words that Tom did not. "And Maggie?" she asks.

"No, I haven't." Tom says, sightly softly.

He closes his tired eyelids and draws in a sharp breath. He deeply regrets his argument with Maggie, early that day. He had just been incredibly worried, panicked and fearful as he had stumbled across Hal's empty room. He shouldn't have taken out his feelings on Maggie, who he knew was only doing what was best for Hal as she always did, and he knew he would find her later in the evening and apologise.

"Neither have I. I've tried…." Anne admits. She pauses before she whispers, "In time, they'll heal. We all will. In time, things will be better. We just have to hold on to hope."

* * *

**A/N: Hi there. Thanks to everyone who reads my story, it means a lot. Thank you very much to those of you who review, I'm so thankful and very grateful.**

**Also, just something else in regards to my OC's. If you remember, on a previous A/N on an earlier chapter, I listed something in regards to my Oc's. I wrote their character descriptions and who I believed that they would look like (I mentioned a few actors, because then you can simply search the actor and get a clearer picture of what they look like.) Anyway, there's been a change to one of the characters (what actor I picture him as) As I've been writing Isaac's character, I've found it very difficult to imagine it as being Alex P., and then I had a dream about my story and I saw Bradley James as Isaac and it sort of feels right, to me and I've been seeing him as Isaac whenever I write him. So, it's up to you who you want to picture.**

**I know, this chapter and a couple before this one have been a little slower, in comparison to earlier chapters. But, it's necessary to the story line to build it up - you'll see, in future chapters. So, what are your thoughts on this chapter and where the story might be going?**

**I apologize in advance for any spelling errors you might come across.**

**Thanks for reading & enjoy.**


	60. Falling softly

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

The pale light of the morning escapes through the window and falls into the room as Hal and Maggie enter it. They find that it is empty and for this Hal is thankful. He doesn't wish to be worried and fussed over. He hates it. He knows that they are only trying to care for him but he doesn't need it. He doesn't need to see such sympathy in their eyes.

"Why…" Hal begins. He stops, to cough to clear his dry throat, before he continues. "Why did you come in there?" he asks.

"You-" Maggie begins, as she pushes Hal's chair towards the side of his bed.

He speaks over her, though, not allowing the words to even pass her lips before he has a response. He knows that she was going to say he wasn't well enough. He knows he's not well but he's not fragile.

"I'm fine, Maggie." he tells her, coming off a little harsher than he'd intended to. "I was doing fine." he says.

"I know." she answers, even though she doesn't believe that he's fine.

"You know, I saw it, in your eyes." Hal admits, with a slightly stiffened posture. "I saw you looking at me like something broken." he says.

"No." Maggie replies, quickly.

"Something fragile, in need of protecting until it can be fixed." Hal continues; he glances towards Maggie, who has moved to stand in front of him, and watches her as he speaks. "That's – I don't want that, Maggie. And I'm not…."

"Don't." she says, sharply. "Don't say that." she tells him, and it's not as though she is asking him but rather telling him to never say that again. "I have never looked at you like that." she says, firmly and confidently.

"And you have never looked at me like that. So, you think that this crappy excuse you're making up, to push me away because you think it's better, is going to work?" she asks. With a hardened expression, she says, "It won't work, so don't."

"I'm just- I'm so sick of sitting around, of lying down." he tells her. "I'm not useless, Maggie, my body works."

"Your body is injured." she counters, quickly, because he is injured but he isn't broken.

He's fighting an infection in his lower back, which is sure to be causing Hal a great deal of pain and weakness. He was shot at, twice, and the grazing from the bullets will have taken their toll on his body. The wound just under his collar bone is deep, and was left untreated and uncared for while he was controlled. What Hal needs is time to heal, physically.

Hal sighs, loudly, and lifts his left hand to his forehead. "It's my body, Maggie, and I know what I can and can't do." he says.

Maggie steps towards Hal, as she says, "I don't want you to push yourself."

"It's driving me crazy, being like this." he admits, still with a louder tone. While holding Maggie's gaze, he continues, "I want to get better. I don't – I don't want to sit around and wait for my body to heal. I'm sick of being the pa-"

"The what, Hal? The patient?" she asks. In this moment, Maggie's expression shifts noticeably in to something so hardened, so defensive, that Hal can't read it.

"Maggie…." Hal sighs.

"To be better, to feel better, you need to recover." she tells him, with a voice that is slightly colder than it was earlier.

"To recover, I need to move." Hal retorts, quickly. "I can't sit around lifeless, and useless." he says.

A small frown appears on Maggie's face. She says, "You're not useless."

"Yeah?" he asks, disbelievingly. "Well, I'm not exactly useful at the moment." he sighs.

"What is this about?" Maggie asks.

When she only receives silence from Hal, who has shifted his gaze down to the floor so that he may avoid her eyes, she asks again.

"Hal, what's going on?" she questions. "Hal?" she says.

"I'm surprised, you know…." he says, finally meeting her eyes.

There is an obvious reluctance and darkness in his eyes as he holds her gaze.

"That no one here has killed me yet, or even tried to." Hal says.

Maggie begins, "They're not going-"

Hal answers, "To get past you? Yeah, I know."

"They won't, Hal." Maggie says. She pauses before she begins, "They're your-"

"My friends?" he asks. "I shot two fighters, Maggie. I almost killed the rest of the fighters." he says, and he sounds terribly sad as he speaks. "Don't say that they understand because they don't. They think I have bugs in my head."

"I know the truth." Maggie says. "And you know it, too." she adds.

But she doesn't know the truth, not the whole truth, and Hal isn't certain he can ever confide in her the whole truth about what he has done. He cannot show her the blood that stains his hands. He can't speak to her of what he did because she would run and he can't lose her because he can't exist without her.

"There are points where it hits me…." Hal begins, softly. "What I've done." he says.

She draws in a tight breath of air, shifting her gaze only momentarily away from Hal.

"It wasn't you, Hal." she says, looking back to him.

"They were my hands…" he says, lowering his gaze down to his hands. "My actions… It's my body. It was me." he adds.

"You didn't have any control." Maggie says, quickly.

Hal knows this, he knows that he had no control, but knowing that he had no control over his own body and his own mind only makes him feel terribly worse.

"I don't have any now." he answers, honestly, sadly, and with a defeated voice.

Maggie shakes her head, disagreeing. With a voice filled with more hope, than Hal has, she speaks.

"But, you do." she says.

It dawns upon Maggie, now, what is bothering Hal. She comes to the quick realization of why he is admitting how he feels, in regards to his actions and the guilt, when he didn't speak of it earlier this morning. He must have remembered something, in the interrogation.

"What do you remember?" she asks.

Hal lifts his gaze, to meet Maggie's, and finds that her arms are crossed over her chest and she is already watching him careful.

"What?" he asks.

"There's something new, that you remember, isn't there?" Maggie asks, still watching him carefully.

Hal sighs. "Maggie, don't." he says.

"No, Hal." Maggie answers, sharply. "You don't – Don't keep it from me, don't keep it inside." she says.

She doesn't want Hal to keep anything from her. She doesn't want Hal to keep his feelings, his thoughts and his memories bottled up inside, beside his pain, because it will only cause him further pain and suffering in the future and she doesn't want that for him.

"I can't…." he admits.

Maggie believes otherwise. She believes that the Hal Mason she knows, the one she fell for, is still there but he's hurting, and he's weak, but he just needs to know that he's still there and that he can still fight. He needs to know that he has someone who will always support him and carry him when he can't carry himself.

"You can." she says.

When Hal fails to answer, when he allows the silence to speak, Maggie speaks again.

With a firm voice, she says, "I'm not leaving."

"There are things that I don't remember clearly and then there are those I don't remember at all." he admits, somehow he manages to keep his eyes locked with hers as he speaks.

He won't tell her the truth, not the whole truth, because he can't bring himself to do it just yet. He can't burden her with this truth, with his truth, as he has burdened his brother who is so utterly disgusted and repulsed by him that he can't bring himself to be around him.

"They're blurs that move too fast or…." Hal begins. He shakes his head, slightly, before he continues, "I don't know what I'm missing, not everything anyway, and that's one of the worst parts…"

It is so difficult to know that something is missing, that something is gone, and to realise you have no idea what's missing because you're not strong enough to search for it.

"Knowing that something is missing, something is gone, but not knowing what it is exactly…You're not able to fill the emptiness you feel inside because you don't know what to fill it with." Hal admits, honestly, painfully and sadly.

Maggie kneels down, before Hal, so that she may reach his hands. She takes his hands, in hers, and says, "In time, you'll remember, Hal. You'll-"

"What if, I don't want to?" he asks, unintentionally speaking over her.

"What if I don't deserve to remember?" he asks.

He doesn't feel that he deserves to remember the memories that are gone because he doesn't believe he is deserving of the happiness, the love and the peace which he may find in those memories.

"Hal…." she says, softly, while still holding his hands.

Anne, who has just opened the door, breaks Hal and Maggie's conversation unintentionally. She steps towards Hal and Maggie, with a soft smile on her face, and says, "Hello, Hal. How are you feeling?"

Hal glances past Anne and towards Tom, who he finds standing silently in the doorway. Tom stands still, almost emotionless, as his eyes rest on his son. Hal meets his father's gaze, with a slight reluctance, but says nothing.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Anne repeats. "Lourdes told me that the pain got worse, during the night." she adds. "How is it now?" she asks, with such concern.

"Fine." Hal answers, lying.

The pain isn't fine. It's far from fine. It consumes him entirely and causes him great weakness. It causes him to long for a sleep where he will not wake to pain. It is insufferable, unbearable, but it is his and it will always be his.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Tom asks, with a slightly louder tone than what Anne has, as he steps inside the room and slowly closes the door behind him.

Maggie takes a step back, from where she had been kneeling in front of Hal, so she may allow Anne to tend to Hal.

Hal watches as she crosses her arms, around herself, and lowers her eyes ever so slightly so that she is looking at the ground. But he knows she isn't staring at anything in particular on the ground, no spot or crack in the floor. He isn't sure what it is she's thinking of, or what it is she sees when she gazes out in to nothing.

"Fine." Hal repeats, effortlessly.

"And Maggie, how are you?" Tom asks; he shifts his gaze, slowly, towards Maggie and as he does he can't help the guilt that follows him as he comes to look upon her.

He sees now what he failed to see earlier, as he was so consumed with his worry for Hal. He sees that she looks tired, exhausted, as though she hasn't slept in weeks. She wears many bruises, and cuts, on her cheeks. The darkest, and most noticeable, scar of all is the burn on her cheek. She looks weak, unwell, and worried for Hal.

She meets his gaze slowly, almost hesitantly, and she remains just as guarded as earlier as she looks at Tom. She understands his worry for Hal. She understands his pain, for his son's state.

"I'm fine, Tom." she answers.

"Why don't you try and get some rest, Maggie?" Anne suggests, with a warm smile.

Maggie replies, quickly and firmly, "Not tired, Anne."

"Okay." Anne nods, sighing softly. "Why don't we get you back into bed, Hal?" she asks.

Hal lifts his gaze away from where it had rested on Tom and moves to look at Maggie. She was already watching him. They share a look of understanding.

"Why don't we get Hal up on his feet?" Maggie suggests; speaking the words that Hal finds he can't say right now. "I mean…It would be good for him to stretch his legs. To move…" she adds.

Anne agrees, completely and enthusiastically, about this idea. "That's a great idea, Maggie." she says.

As he still holds Maggie's gaze, he manages a small, thankful smile. He believes that moving will be better than resting his body – he isn't deserving of rest. He's deserving of the pain that will surely accompany his movements.

"Here." Tom says, softly. He steps towards Hal, and Maggie, and moves towards the left side of Hal so that he may help his son stand from the chair. "Let me help." Tom adds.

Maggie moves towards the right side of Hal, so that she may support him, and as she does she is reminded of how she was in a situation similar to this not so long ago, after she had been burnt by the mech.

Her body still aches from the wounds. The burns still scar her body, and always will. She still finds herself feeling pain from those wounds, and the wounds inflicted by Karen, but she doesn't dare speak of it because she isn't concerned with her own wellbeing. Hal matters to her, so greatly, and she needs him to recover so she will focus everything on helping him to heal and become well again.

Hal slowly wraps his fingers around Maggie's arm, purposefully placing it on the part that he knows holds no injuries. Then, he repeats this process with his left hand, placing his left hand on his father's arm.

He feels Tom watching him carefully, closely, and intensely and he hates that he has caused his father such worry, fear and stress. He hates, more than anything, that he has caused his father pain. He would never wish to inflict pain on his father, or anyone in the Second Mass, but he has and he must deal with what he has done.

He must face the consequences of his actions and he must suffer the pain accompanied with these actions because he is so well deserving of it.

"Okay, Hal." Anne begins, softly and soothingly. "Just take it easy, okay? One step at a time." she instructs him. "At any point, if you want to turn back say so." she says.

But Hal knows better, he knows the truth. He knows that there is no turning back from all that he has done. He can't go back, none of them can, and knowing you can't go back when you are aware of how dark and dismal the future will be is painfully difficult.

"I've got you, Hal." Tom says, gently and reassuringly, as he watches Hal draw in a breath of air.

Hal simply nods before his grip tightens, slightly, on their arms as he uses them to assist him in standing from the chair. His knees straighten out, slowly, and the burning pain he feels in his knee is nothing compared to what he feels in his back. As he straightens his back and stands tall, he finds that all that he wants in this moment is to feel nothing.

He longs to feel nothing. He longs to feel numb, and empty, but then the voice in his mind reminds him of the debt he must pay – he owes the darkness and he knows how he must pay it back. He must pay his debt through the pain which accompanies each breath, each thought and each movement.

"Hal, how are you doing?" Anne asks. "You've got to talk to me, alright? Just talk to us. Let us know how you're doing." she says, softly but firmly.

"Okay." Hal nods; he falls silent as he lowers his gaze down to his feet.

Seeing Hal like this, in this state, pains Tom so greatly. It causes him such insufferable pain which he had hoped he would never see again. He aches with pain. He longs to take the pain, and the guilt, form his son and to carry it for him so he won't have to feel it.

Tom feels such guilt already, though. He feels guilt for Hal, and what the aliens did to him. He feels such guilt when he thinks of Matt, which he does in every second of every day, and then the guilt comes flooding down when he thinks of Ben and what Hal did to him.

They have all lost so much, perhaps they've lost too much. Maybe, they can't lose anymore because they have nothing left to lose, nothing left to give. And Tom feels that way. He doesn't have anything left to give. But, he has so much left to lose.

He still has his boys, they're alive, and he knows that he will protect them until his last breath. He will care for them, and defend them, and love them so strongly. He will help them to move through these difficult and dark times which they find themselves lost in.

Hal steps forward, with his left foot first, and draws in a subtle, sharp breath of air. He says nothing, gives no indication of the pain, as he takes another step. Hal's focusing, as much as he can, on moving forward. But he's so tired, and so weak, and what's worse is that his body isn't as tired as his mind.

His body wants to heal, it's fighting to heal, but his mind is slower. His thoughts are still blurry, and jumbled, and he knows he is missing parts of himself. He's missing memories, and feelings, and he can't find them. He's not strong enough to find them. He sees the darker memories, the more recent ones, of all that he has done. He finds no light in these memories. He finds no hope either.

"How are you doing, Hal?" Tom asks, with such clear and strong concern in his voice as he watches Hal as he stands at a still.

Hal hadn't realised that he'd stopped walking and as he notices this he nods, once. "Yeah, I was…." he begins but trails off.

"Do you need to stop?" Maggie asks, with such an incredibly impassive voice that it's as though she is feeling absolutely nothing.

"No. I'm fine." Hal says.

"How's the pain, Hal?" Anne asks, concerned greatly for Hal and all of the pain that he must be feeling.

"Fine." he repeats.

"I think that we should call it a day." Tom suggests. "You need to rest, Hal." he adds, as he continues to look down upon his son.

"Alright." Hal answers, surprising all of them.

"Alright?" Tom asks, unsure if Hal did just agree to voluntarily resting his body.

Hal nods. "Yeah, only if you find Ben…." he announces.

"Why?" Tom asks; immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. "What's wrong? Has something happened with Ben? Is he okay?" Tom queries; he speaks quickly and loudly.

"No, Dad. He's fine." Hal sighs. "I just – Just check in on him, okay?" he asks.

Hal will never speak about it to his father, or to anyone else, but he's so very worried for Ben. He hasn't seen Ben since their last conversation which went so badly, so painfully, and he worries deeply about his brother's wellbeing just as he worries about Matt's current wellbeing.

Hal feels like he has lost both of his brothers and this loss is destroying him. He wants to be around the both of them. He wants to hear their laughs, see their smiles, and he wants to go back to how they once were.

He wants to go back, he needs to go back, but he knows the painful truth.

There is no moving forward and there is no going back – you're stuck, frozen, and you're forced to remain, drifting entirely alone, in the in-between.

* * *

As Tom moves up the staircase and towards the upper level of the library, he finds Ben; at the farthest end of the room, searching through a pile of books which have been carelessly tossed on the pile. He moves towards Ben slowly, silently, and as he reaches his son it takes him a moment to speak.

"You find what you're looking for?" Tom asks, loudly, as he continues moving closer towards Ben.

Ben glances up, quickly, from the pile of books and as he does, Tom notes that his eyes appear to almost dart towards him as though Ben was expecting someone else entirely.

As he casts his eyes over his son, he finds him to look unwell, like he hasn't slept in weeks. Tom knows, from the very beginning, that something is troubling Ben. He knows his son's, so well, and he still does even after everything that they have been through and everything that has changed them.

And Tom can't deny it; they have changed. In some ways, they have changed for the better. In some ways, his sons are stronger but in other ways they aren't.

"Yeah…." Ben sighs. "Wasn't really looking for anything." he admits.

"I've been looking around, for you, lately." Tom says, taking another step toward Ben. "Hard to find you." he adds, after a slight pause.

"Yep….Well, I've been going on patrol with Isaac." Ben says; as he speaks he puts down the book he was skimming over and moves towards his father. "I'm fine, Dad." he admits, holding his father's worry filled gaze as he speaks.

Tom sighs, softly. "Ben…." he begins.

"I'm fine, Dad." Ben repeats.

"You don't look it." Tom answers, honestly; he steps towards Ben, so that he is standing much closer to him. "Ben…" he says, softly, gently and with such love. "Anything that's going on-" he starts, but the words don't pass his lips before Ben speaks.

"There's nothing going on." Ben replies, quickly.

"You're a bad liar, Ben, you always have been." Tom says. "Whatever it is, whether it's good or bad, you can tell me. You can always come to me, Ben."

Ben simply shakes his head, giving Tom no verbal response just yet. He can't tell his father because it isn't good; it's so far from anything good. He can't come to his father about this. He can't tell Tom what Hal has done because it would break him, and he can't be broken any further.

"Ben." Tom says, a little louder now. "I'm your father. I only want to help you. That's all I want. So, talk to me, Ben. Let me help you." he says, nearly pleading.

Ben begins, "I'm fine-"

"No, you're not. You're not fine, okay?" Tom replies, quickly and without hesitation. "I know, Ben." he announces. He pauses, drawing in a small breath of air, before he says, "Call it a parent's intuition. I just know. So talk to me. Trust me."

Tom wants his son's to know that they can always trust him. They can always come to him and they can always count on him. All that he ever wants to do is keep them safe, happy and healthy. He lives to protect them, to help them, to care for them. He loves them so, they're his world, and he will do anything for them.

"I can't." Ben says, finally, and he sounds so sure that he can't possibly confide in his father what has been haunting and troubling him in his every waking moment.

"You can't, what?" Tom asks, frowning ever so slightly. "Trust me?" he asks, sounding shattered at the very thought that his son can't trust him.

"No, I can." Ben answers, quickly. He nods. "I do." he insists, because he trusts his father very much. He pauses before he eventually says, "It's just…It's not my place to say."

Tom leaves his hands resting on Ben's shoulders as he says, truthfully and softly, "I will help however I can."

Ben sighs dejectedly. "What if you can't?" he asks, because it's a very likely possibility that he won't be able to help.

It's very likely that no one will be able to help Hal, Ben knows this. He fears this. He only wants his brother to heal, and to grow stronger, so that he may become the man he once was but Ben fears that the man Hal once was is gone.

The Hal he once was; the brave, strong, fearless Hal Mason has been gone for quite some time. In his place rests a weakened, defeated and broken shadow of his former self. His body is weak. His mind shattered; fragments are missing while haunting memories play freshly in his eyes.

Ben can't begin to imagine what it is that his brother is feeling or how he is coping with it. Ben can barely cope with the news that he learnt, from the Overlord, and he can't begin to imagine how it must feel to learn that your mind and body were controlled and once you woke, you lost a part of yourself you never got back.

Tom shakes his head, several times, before he says, "Why don't you tell me what's going on before you decide I can't help?"

Ben's breathing begins to fasten, and deepen, slightly as he recalls his conversation with Hal. He knows the blood that stains his brother's hands and even though he is aware that Hal didn't do it, he finds it so very difficult to wrap his head around.

"It's okay." Tom says, soothingly, as he rests his hands gently on to Ben's shoulders. "It's okay." he repeats, and as he speaks Ben does believe it is okay because his father speaks with such love, such care, such concern.

"I'm right here." he says. "I'm right here, Ben. It's okay. Just talk to me." Tom adds, watching his son with such concern.

Ben shakes his head as he tries to step back, away from Tom, but Tom doesn't lift his hands from his son's shoulder because he won't let him run away. He won't let him leave just yet, not when he's still troubled.

Tom often forgets that Ben is only fifteen, turning sixteen in a few months. He often forgets how young he is. He's mature, beyond his years, so it's easy for him to momentarily forget that he is only fifteen years old.

"I can't, Dad." Ben admits, sadly.

"You can." Tom says, shaking his head. "You can always come to me." he says.

Ben sighs, before he begins, "It'll – It'll…"

"What is it, Ben?" he asks.

"It's Hal." Ben says, drawing in a sharp breath of air after he speaks.

"Okay." Tom nods, maintaining the same loving, concerned expression. "What about Hal?" he asks.

Ben shakes his head, again, several times. He shouldn't tell his father, he shouldn't tell anyone, but it's been eating his insides up. He feels so haunted by this guilt. It stays with him in every moment of the day. Ben longs to be free of it. He needs to be free of it before it destroys him.

"I know, Dad." Ben admits, sadly. "I know what he did." he says.

The beginnings of a frown slip on to Tom's features. He pauses, almost hesitant to speak, as he watches Ben.

"What are you talking about, Ben?" Tom asks.

They are all aware, already, of what Hal did while he was controlled. They know everything that he did. But, the way that Ben sounds as he speaks and his troubled, pained expression causes Tom to believe that there is more.

Tom believes, now, for a flicker of a second that there is something more, something that they have been keeping from him, but he has no idea what it could be.

"What are you talking about, Ben?" Tom repeats.

"When he was…." Ben begins.

He draws in a sharp breath before he presses his lips together. He hesitates, as he considers his next words. Soon enough, the words flow from his mouth and he has almost no control over them.

"When he was controlled, he told me. The Espheni told me…." Ben says, speaking so hurriedly and with such a pained voice that it cause Tom to gain a feeling of impending doom.

Tom pauses, briefly, before he finally asks, "What did he tell you, Ben?"

"It wasn't Hal, Dad. It wasn't. It wasn't Hal." Ben repeats, quickly, as he continues to take in sharp and painful breaths.

"I know." Tom nods, with a small smile. "I know. But we've got him-" he begins.

"We don't have him back!" Ben replies, with a much louder voice than he'd intended to. His voice begins to crack, and all that he feels becomes painfully clear, as he says, "We never got him back. We don't have him back."

Ben pulls a step back, away from Tom, and removes his father's hands from his shoulders. Ben feels sick when he thinks of what the aliens did to his brother, and what they made him do.

"Hal-" Tom begins.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ben asks, unable to contain the pain which he feels as he recalls his conversation with Hal, and then his earlier conversation with The Overlord.

"What, Ben?" Tom asks, stepping towards Ben even as he takes another step away.

"You didn't tell me about Hal." Ben states, accusingly. "You didn't tell me what they did to him." he says.

The expression on Tom's features shifts from an unsure one to a painfully aware one. He steps towards Ben, his face contorting slightly, as he speaks.

"I didn't-" Tom replies.

"What? Think I could handle it?" Ben asks; his breathing deepens greatly as he speaks. "You didn't think I had a right to know they cut Hal open, and hung him up by hooks?" he asks. He draws in a sharp breath, his eyes glistening with water, as he says, "I saw the scars, on his body, Dad. I saw them."

"It wasn't my place to say, Ben." Tom says, with a much sadder tone. "Okay? It wasn't my place to say." he repeats, his eyes beginning to well with the threat of tears. "I'm sorry, Ben. I'm sorry…" he whispers.

"You should have told me, Dad." Ben says, shaking his head. "If-if…I left him, Dad." Ben announces, he sounds sick as he speaks. "I left him...I left Charleston when he needed me. I abandoned him. I abandoned you."

"No, you didn't." Tom says, shaking his head.

He tries to reach out to Ben, to hold him, but Ben refuses to allow his father to comfort him and so he takes a step further away. Ben feels such guilt for abandoning Hal, and his dad, in Charleston and knowing that he left them at such a difficult time causes the guilt that he feels to intensify.

"Hal has always been there for me." Ben says, holding back a choking sob. "And I'm never there for him. I'm not there." he adds.

"That's not true." Tom replies, quickly. "You're here now, for him. That's all that matters." he says, softly.

Ben shakes his head, quickly. "But I'm not – I can't-I can't…." he begins.

"Ben…." Tom whispers, soothingly and gently.

Tom takes a slow step towards Ben, not wanting him to step away as he notices this movement, and pauses as he watches Ben staring silently down at the ground beneath his feet.

"Ben." Tom repeats, causing Ben to slowly lift his gaze to meet his.

"You can always come to me." Tom says. "I will always be here. Whatever it is, talk to me. Right here, right now. I promise you that you'll feel better." he says.

Ben nods, slowly, as he presses his lips together and runs his hands up his face and through his hair. He meets his father's gaze again and as he does he finds that he wants to tell him. He wants to confide in his father and confess to him all of the things that have been haunting him throughout the night. So, he does confide in him because he can't handle it. He can't hold it in any longer.

With all that he has learnt, he was doomed to break. He could never hold it in, just as Hal can't hold it in.

Ben has tried to shut his feelings, and his thoughts, down but he can't do it. He can't pretend that the darkness isn't lurking around him. He can't ignore the blood which haunts his dreams any longer.

"Billy." Ben says, and that's all that he can say before he feels as though he is going to be sick again.

He begins to shake his head slowly, and silently, as he watches his father's expression shift from one of uncertainty to one of a complete understanding. Tom steps towards his son and embraces him, tightly. He wraps his arms around his son and holds him tightly as Ben's body begins to heave heavily with the choked sobs which he prevents from passing his lips.

"Shhhh…" Tom whispers, soothingly, as he continues to hold Ben as tightly as he possibly can. "It's okay." he promises. "It's going to be fine." he says.

Ben gives no response as he allows himself to stay, for a moment, in his father's warm, tight and protective embrace. As he does, he feels hot tears streaking down his neck but these are not his own tears – they are his father's tears.

They don't move, for a moment. For a moment they allow each other to cling to each other and the memory of what their family once was. They cling to happier times. They cling to the times without the constant, and overwhelming, pain.

They stay this way for a while but eventually they let go because, in at least one moment in your life, you have to let go.

* * *

Maggie had left Hal, reluctantly, at Anne's instruction that he needed to rest in peace, and alone, and somehow she had found herself outside, in search of Isaac. Her feet had unknowingly led her to him and as they had she had, for a moment, been uncertain of what to say to him.

Something was different with him, with them, ever since the forest. He had been so strange, so out of character, and then he had suddenly returned to who he was. But Maggie knew better than to push things. If Isaac didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't ask because it was his business and not hers.

Isaac turns around, from where he had stood at the edge of the forest, to find Maggie standing behind him looking uncertain

He smiles at her. "Speedy and silent." he comments, as he takes a slight step towards her.

Maggie simply smiles at this, giving no verbal response for now.

"Ah." Isaac sighs. "No fight? No argument? Simply a smile?" he asks, tilting his head to the side. "That isn't like the Maggie I know." he says.

"So, you're back to calling me Maggie, then? No Miss Margaret?" she asks; she casts a quick look over him to find that he looks unwell, tired, and that there is something about him that is different.

Maggie isn't quite sure what it is that is different but she sees that there is something missing in his eyes.

"I could call you Heathcliff, if you'd prefer. Got a bit of that beard back, I see." he says, his serious expression shifting in to that of a happier, goofier one. "You know I only tease you because I like you. It's a male trait." he adds, still smiling.

This causes a small smile to reappear on her face. She nods, once. "Uh, Isaac…." she begins.

"Don't." he says, because it really isn't necessary.

But, she continues despite his objection for her not to.

"Thank you, for what you did for Hal." Maggie says, finally.

He shakes his head, once, before he admits, "It wasn't just for Hal."

"What do you mean?" she asks, frowning.

"I mean, it was…" he begins. He pauses, briefly, before he says, "But it was for you, and for Ben, too."

"You know Ben?" Maggie asks.

He replies, "We've become quite good friends."

"Thank you…." she says. "For what you did. You didn't have-"

"I know…" he replies, quickly.

Maggie pauses, hesitant to ask, before she finally says, "Why did you?"

He begins, softly, "Because…."

"Because?" she asks.

"Because I know what it's like to care for someone, greatly." he admits, briefly looking away from her as he speaks. He continues, "To love them and only want to protect them…I know."

"You have someone, then?" she asks. "I mean…It's not-" Maggie begins.

"Yes." Isaac answers, the smile faltering on his lips. "I had a love, a great love." he says, the smile only reappearing as he reminisces on his great love.

He turns to her, no smile on his face, with a more serious expression on his features. "Be careful, Maggie." he says, and for a moment she's uncertain of what it is that he's telling her to be careful of. "Hold on to them with everything you have, cherish every moment, because one morning you'll wake up and it'll be gone and I can assure you, nothing will ever be the same." he says, somehow managing to hold her gaze firmly as he speaks.

He pauses before he says, "If Hal is yours….Don't let him go. You'll hate yourself if you do."

"You, uh…You let her go?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "I've got – I gotta go, Maggie." he says, finally, clearing his throat. "Look after yourself, speedy." he says, with a small smile, before he steps away from her and leaves her to her own thoughts and memories which she cannot avoid.

* * *

Hal glances up from where he rests, on the edge of his bed, to find his father slowly and silently stepping through the door to his room. His father turns to him, looking as physically exhausted as Hal has ever seen him, and somehow manages to smile at him.

After everything that his father has been through, after everything they have been through as family, somehow Tom manages to smile. He manages to find hope, to have faith and to find light in the dark even when the dark is so overwhelmingly powerful and consuming.

"How are you doing, Hal?" Tom asks.

Hal, ignoring his father's question because he couldn't possibly care less about his own wellbeing or health, asks, "Did you find Ben?"

Tom remains still, at the end of Hal's bed, as he nods. "Yes. I did, Hal. He's fine." Tom answers, and as he finishes speaking he wonders how he could say such a sentence without breaking down entirely.

Tom knows that he has to address this, among many other things, with Hal cautiously and carefully. He can't rush in to it because he doesn't want to cause Hal any further pain.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Tom asks, again, as he continues to watch Hal.

"Okay." Hal answers.

"And Maggie…." Tom begins. "How is she?" he asks.

"She's fine, Dad." Hal answers, quickly. "Why? What's going on?" he asks, watching Tom with a slight suspicion.

"I'm worried about you." Tom says.

Hal nods, at this, because he knows that his father always has and always will worry greatly for his sons.

"Have you heard from Matt?" Hal asks.

He misses Matt so badly, so strongly, that he aches to be with him. He wants to see his little brother, watch him smile or laugh. He just wants to be close to his family again but Hal fears that such an opportunity to be close to them may never appear again.

Tom shakes his head, unable to speak for a moment. In his every waking moment, and even in the little sleep that he gets, he thinks of Matt and how he misses him and worries for him so much.

"Hal…There are things we need to talk about." Tom announces.

"I can't, Dad." Hal replies." I'm missing a lot, too much." he says, and as the words pass Hal's lips he notices something in his father's eyes.

He sees a flicker of something but he isn't quite sure what it is. What he is certain of, though, is that his father is watching him differently.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asks.

"I don't-" Tom begins.

"What did I do?" he asks.

"I know that look." he says, standing slowly from the bed.

"Hal, don't try to stand." Tom says, almost pleading, as he steps towards Hal.

He shakes his head. "Don't, Dad. Don't lie to me." he says.

"I just want to help you, Hal, that's all I want." Tom says, speaking quickly and loudly.

Then, the realization of what his father knows and why he is looking at him like that clicks in Hal's mind. He remembers this look, the look in his eyes. This look haunts him and follows him wherever he goes. It was the look that Ben wore in his eyes as he'd confronted him on what he'd done to….Billy.

Hal backs away from Tom, his face contorting in to a pained expression, as he draws in a sharp breath.

"Hal…." Tom begins.

"Go." Hal tells him, loudly. "Get out of here. Go." he says.

"I'm not leaving." Tom says, firmly.

"You know." Hal announces, with dark and hollow eyes. His hands begin to shake as his chest slowly lifts in and out. "You know." he repeats, searching his father's eyes for his true emotions and thoughts. "You know what I've done, what I did….." he murmurs.

He lowers his gaze away from Tom and looks down on to the floor. For a moment he appears as though he is detached from reality, and from the haunting reminders, and he cannot hear anyone else. He blocks out his father's voice and the voices inside his head, for a moment, before he finally speaks.

"You hate me." Hal says, sadly, and he's not asking whether his father hates him but instead he is stating that his father must hate him just as Ben does and just as Maggie will in time. "You have every reason to." he adds, accepting his father's hatred before it is even admitted.

His father's hatred is just as inevitable as his brother's hatred, or Maggie's.

"Never." Tom replies, quickly, as he steps closer towards Hal. He tries to rest his hands on Hal's shoulders but Hal will not let him.

"You're disgusted." Hal says, accusingly.

"Never hate, never disgust, only love." Tom says, honestly and reassuringly. "You're my boy, my son, and I love you. I do, so much. Nothing can and ever will change that."

"You look at me differently." Hal says, lowering his gaze as he speaks. He sounds so sure as he mutters, "It's not the same, it'll never be the same."

"You can find…." Tom begins.

"I can't!" Hal exclaims, lifting his eyes up to meet his father's.

These eyes that stare at Tom do not belong to his son. They belong to a damaged stranger, a broken, unfamiliar stranger who can't return. These eyes belong to an empty, beaten man who has forgotten about life, hope and love.

"I'm a killer." Hal says, and as the words pass his pale lips, involuntary tears slip down on to his face but he doesn't wipe them away or acknowledge them.

He feels his insides corroding, the darkness is eating at his heart, and he doesn't care. He doesn't care if his heart stops working because there isn't much left of it anyway. He doesn't care about himself, not anymore.

"I've killed people." Hal says, slowly and softly, more tears spilling on to his cheeks. "I've taken a life, more than once, and I can't live with that. I don't want to live with it…." he admits sadly, honestly, painfully.

Tom shakes his head, quickly, because he is always willing to hold hope and to believe that there is always another way.

"You can move past this." Tom says, reassuringly.

"No, I can't." Hal answers, confidently.

"In my heart…." Tom begins, pressing his right hand to his heart. "I know that you can, I just know." he says, almost whispering.

Tom takes a step towards Hal and as he comes to stand before him he takes his hand, in his, and presses Hal's hand to his own heart. He rests his hands on top of Hal's as he says, "Your heart is good, and pure, and it's strong, Hal. It's much stronger than you think. You can move past this, I know it."

Hal extracts his hands from his father and takes a step back, away from him. "You're wrong." he states. "I don't want to move past it because I don't want to live with this." he admits.

"You can, Hal." Tom replies. "You have before." he says.

"But it's not like before, Dad. It's not like before at all!" he answers, with a voice much louder than he'd intended for it to be.

"You don't know what it's like to wake up and find yourself covered in blood." Hal says; he sounds so panicked, so helpless, and so pained as he speaks.

"And I'm drowning in it, Dad. I can't get out. I can't. I'm fighting and I'm trying but I can't." he says, shaking his head slowly as he speaks. "I can't." he repeats.

Tom insists, "But you can, Hal. I can help you."

"You can't!" Hal replies, with no hesitation. "You want to, and I want you to, but you can't help me!" he says; sounding so frightened and sad.

As Tom listens to Hal speaking of wanting help but not being able to receive it, Tom can see the frightened boy inside. The strong man that he once knew, as his son, is trying to come back. He's fighting to come back and he's trying desperately to recover from these almost fatal wounds, and in this moment, as Hal speaks of wanting help, he is a young boy in need of help in Tom's eyes.

"I can, Hal. I'm your father." Tom replies. "I will always be here to help you. If you're drowning, I'll rescue you. I'll save you, Hal, but you have to let me…." he says.

Hal shakes his head repeatedly as his breathing deepens and his body begins to heave.

"You're hurt and you're frightened." Tom states, and it is only now as Hal looks up to his father that he finds his cheeks are stained with the remnants of tears. "You're scared, you feel guilty, but all of those things you think you did - you didn't do them. It wasn't you. You can't blame yourself."

Hal breathes inwards, closing his eyes for only a moment. "My hands…." he murmurs, with eyes still firmly closed. "I did it all with my own hands…." he says, opening his eyes so that he may look down upon his hands.

Slowly, he turns his hands over so that he may examine the blood that he _always_ sees staining them.

"I want to believe that it wasn't me…." Hal admits. "And I almost do and then….." he trails of, a grimace appearing on his face as he presses his lips together.

He shakes his head, as he continues to look down at his hands which are shakings so obviously and there is nothing Hal can do to stop them from shaking.

"I look down at my hands and the blood is everywhere." Hal says; he sounds so exhausted and so drained of all of his emotions.

Somehow, Hal manages to meet his father's gaze and as he does such guilt falls upon him. He shakes his head, still holding his father's gaze.

"You can't do this, Dad." Hal tells him, firmly. "You can't treat me like I'm good, like I'm worth saving, because I'm not good and I'm not worth saving. I killed Billy, just like I killed those kids…"

"Hal, no – You didn't do it. It wasn't you, okay?!"

"I put my hands around his neck and I snapped it!" Hal yells, angrily and loudly. He lifts his hands to his head, and presses them against it, as he says, "I see it in my head. It replays over, and over, and over again. I should be punished."

"No, you shouldn't, Hal!" Tom replies, trying to pull his son closer to him.

Hal pushes Tom away, effortlessly, as though he has no control over what he is doing but is only determined to make sure that his family is as far away from him as is possible.

Tom says, loudly and confidently, "You had no idea what you were doing!"

"Do you think that matters, Dad?" Hal asks, smiling while the tears fall quickly on to his cheeks. "It doesn't! I killed him. I snapped Billy's neck! And I should be punished for what I've done." he says, the smile disappearing from his face quickly as he turns towards the figure standing in the open door.

Tom follows Hal's gaze and finds himself frozen as he comes to view Isaac, standing in his uniform, in the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. Tom isn't sure how long Isaac had been standing there but he knows, without a doubt, from the look in Isaac's eyes that he knows what Hal is done.

In his mind, Tom can already see his fears coming true. His fears that Hal will be punished for the aliens crimes, and that he will be haunted by the blood that the Overlord spilled, and that Hal will never truly be free again.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! 60 chapters - Wow! I certainly never believed that I'd ever make it to 60 chapters, or that people would want to read my story, so thank you to every single person who has ever read a single chapter of this story. I truly appreciate it and I'm so thankful. I also can't believe that I have 349 reviews - that's seriously insane. I never dreamed I would reach thirty reviews, yet alone 349 so thank you to every person who has ever reviewed my story. You don't know how happy it makes me, or how much better it makes my day, to read that you are enjoying my story.**

**Let me know what you think of this chapter, I'd love to hear your thoughts.  
I apologise in advance for any spelling errors there may be.**

**I know, this chapter and the ones before it have been a little slow but I'm building up to something big. That's all I'll say.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	61. Leave it all behind

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

The silence stays with them, for a moment, as none in the room are entirely sure where to go from here or if they can go anywhere.

Isaac watches them carefully for a moment. He finds he can't, even if he'd wanted to, lift his gaze away from Tom or Hal Mason.

Hal Mason stands still, emotionless, as though there is not a feeling or emotion in his body. He remains the hardened, haunted statute as words fail him.

Isaac heard correctly, there is no denying that. Tom knows this as he takes a step towards Isaac and as he does he finds himself almost at a complete loss for words. He watches Isaac closely, finding that he is excellent at concealing his true thoughts and emotions.

"Isaac…." Tom begins.

Isaac shakes his head. "No." he says, loudly and firmly.

Tom pauses, falling silent, and remains silent so that he may allow Isaac to speak. Tom wasn't quite sure what he could say, anyway, in a situation such as this.

"No." Isaac repeats. "Tom Mason…" he begins, turning his complete attention towards Tom.

Isaac takes a step inside the room and shuts the door behind him, so that no one passing by will hear the following words.

"The two of you will remain in this room until I return. Is that understood?" he says, impassively.

Tom nods, agreeing to his terms, but otherwise remains silent.

Isaac is able to see the worry in Tom Mason's eyes; he is worried that Isaac will return with soldiers who will prosecute Hal for his crimes but what Tom is unaware of is that Isaac is still undecided about how he is going to deal with this situation.

"If I return to the room and find either of you absent, I will report this incident, immediately, to First Sergeant Logan Hatchet." Isaac states; as he speaks he glances briefly towards Hal who he finds continues to watch him with empty and lifeless eyes. "Is that understood?" he asks.

Tom nods, again. "Yes, it is." he agrees.

He holds Tom's gaze, which is worrisome and fearful, before he moves towards the door and leaves the room as quickly as he possibly can.

For a moment, and only for the briefest moment, Tom stares silently at the closed door. He closes his eyes, slowly, drawing in a slightly shaky breath as he lifts his hands to his head and runs them through his hair. He draws in a sharper breath and holds it for a moment before he turns towards Hal who remains where he previously stood.

They share a brief look of understanding because they both are entirely aware, and they both understand, what is to come. Hal knows he can't outrun this, he can't outrun what he has done, and sadly, Tom knows it too. But Tom won't accept his son's fate, as a broken man deemed a killer, because he isn't.

Tom will fight for Hal, and for his innocence, because his son is innocent.

"Hal…." he says, taking a slight step towards his son.

Hal looks drained, weakened, and he looks exhausted but he does not speak, he does not argue his father or try to stop him from speaking, instead he simply watches his father; his kind, caring father who has such a strong, beautiful, loving heart and who cares so much about his family.

His father who voluntarily walked on to the alien's ship, where he received such horrible and unimaginable treatment, so that Ben would remain safe.

But this treatment that his father suffered is not unimaginable to Hal, because he has been through something frighteningly similar, but what is so unimaginable to Hal, what he cannot allow himself to think of often without the fear of going entirely mad, is the knowledge that this cruel treatment happened to his father.

When he thinks of his father feeling any pain, Hal feels such inescapable and insufferable pain but this pain only makes him long to take all and any pain away from his father, his brother's, and Maggie so that they wouldn't feel any pain ever again because they don't deserve to.

"About…." he murmurs. "The, uh…I…." Tom stutters, unintentionally. "You don't know what it's like." Tom states. "What it's like being a father and watching your child grow in to a man right before your eyes…." he whispers. He lifts his gaze towards Hal as he continues, "You gain a sense of helplessness, as they grow up, and they grow up so quickly – they become a good man, a better man than you ever were, and you are better than me, Hal. You are. But we want that. We want you to be better than us."

Tom pauses, only so that he may draw in another, sharper breath of air. He says, honestly and sadly, "You become stronger, more capable of surviving alone but we don't want that – we don't want you to be alone, ever, but we can't protect you from everything….Despite how badly we try to."

Hal shakes his head, once, before he says, almost whispering, "I'm not, Dad. I'm not better than you, not at all."

Hal lifts his right hand to the bridge of his nose where he leaves it resting, for a moment, before he scratches his forehead. "I could have known what it was like." Hal says, softly, as he reluctantly meets his father's gaze.

Hal hasn't talked about this before, not with his father and not with Maggie, and it is so difficult for him to accept that he lost something. It is so difficult for him to speak about this to anyone and yet, the words pass his lips almost against his will and soon enough, they are gone and he cannot pull them back or pretend that they were not spoken.

"I didn't….I didn't have the chance – it was taken from me. The decision- it was….I couldn't. It wasn't… Mine to make and it-I can't- I can't…." Hal says; he speaks softly but stutters frequently.

Softly, Tom begins, "If you had the choice…."

With no pause, no moment of hesitation or reluctance, Hal answers, "I'd take it."

"Hal…." Tom says, pausing only to release a small, soft sigh.

Hal presses his lips together, clenching his jaw together tightly, as he hears his own voice replaying in his mind. He hears himself screaming out for Maggie, begging Karen not to harm her. He had been so frightened that Karen would hurt Maggie. Hal had been so scared that he would lose Maggie and he had lost Maggie.

She was still around him, physically, but emotionally she was withdrawn from him. She was keeping her distance from him and he understood why. He accepted that she could never look at him the same, and that she could never feel what she once felt for him, and he was at peace with it because he couldn't expect her to care for him, or love him, after he had been such a monster.

"I lost something that I never had." Hal says, as he closes his eyes tightly. "I lost myself…." he murmurs. "I lost….All of it….Everything." he adds, his voice barely over a whisper.

"That pain, you're feeling…." Tom whispers, softly and gently. "I know it, Hal, and it gets easier. It does. I know it doesn't feel like it now, but it does." he promises him.

He opens his eyes slowly as his mind registers those few words. He asks, "You know it?"

"I do." Tom nods. Somehow, he manages to continue and speak of something difficult; he manages to speak of something so painful. Tom begins, softly, "Your mother…And I…Before the war…"

"You were…" Hal mutters.

He doesn't have to finish that sentence because he and his father share a look of understanding, again. Hal learns now that, before the war his parents lost a child.

"Matt was three when we found out." Tom admits, lowering his gaze slightly. "We were so happy, so excited…And uh…." he begins but quickly falls silent, pressing his lips tightly together.

It takes Tom a moment to get a grip on the situation, on his emotions, but when he finally does he is able to meet Hal's gaze again. "Two days before we were going to tell you boys, we…." he murmurs.

Hal's jaw clenches tightly together, again, as he takes a slight step towards his father. Unsure of what to do, Hal lifts his left hand to his father's shoulder and simply allows it to rest there. Hal whispers, softly and genuinely, "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry."

Tom lifts his right hand up and slowly places it on to his son's hands. Hal does not flinch, as Tom had expected him to, and Hal does not recoil from the touch, as Tom had feared he might.

Hal runs his lips, quickly, over his dry lips before he presses them together. He sighs, shakily, and with an unsteady voice he says, quickly, "I'm sorry, Dad, for hurting your, for leaving you, for disappointing you. I'm sorry for letting you down."

"Whoa, slow down, Hal." Tom answers, quickly, shaking his head slightly. He begins, "You haven't-"

He tries to tell Hal that he hasn't let him down, or hurt him, and he hasn't left him or disappointed him. Hal has only ever made Tom proud, even in his darkest moments he makes Tom feel such pride when he sees how strong and resilient his son can be.

"It's okay, Dad." Hal reassures him. "I'm at peace with it." he admits.

He frowns. "At peace with what?" Tom asks, still watching Hal with a great intensity and wonder.

"You'll be at peace with it too, once you see the truth in all of this." Hal says, failing to answer his father's question in anyway.

"Peace with what, Hal?" Tom asks, again, and as he speaks a small frown threatens to form on his features.

Hal shakes his head, quickly. "I'm at peace with it." he insists, sounding so sure.

Tom pauses before he asks, with a gentle voice, "At peace with what, Hal?"

"The truth…." Hal answers. He stops, only to meet his father's gaze completely, before he says, "The truth is that no one needs me, they only think they do."

* * *

As Pope steps out through one of the side doors, of the library, he turns the corner and comes to stand at the back of the library. He finds, to his surprise, Maggie standing alone, with her back towards him. He can't tell whether her eyes are opened, or closed, as he steps towards her.

"What are you doing, Pope?" she asks, not moving at all.

Pope sighs. "What are you doing, Maggie-May? Thought you'd be inside playing happy families with bug-boy?" he asks, sharply, as he takes another step towards her.

Maggie turns to face Pope now, an unreadable expression set on her hardened features. "That's not fair." she says, with the smallest shred of vulnerability slipping through the cracks in her walls.

These cracks are tiny, and nothing real can slip through, but before with Hal, her walls had almost broken down – but then, after everything that had happened between them in these past weeks, she had rebuilt her walls yet again.

"When have you ever known me to be fair, hmm?" he asks, watching her carefully.

Maggie sees a flicker of something familiar in Pope's eyes; she spots a flicker of emptiness, loneliness, in his eyes and she understands who he is missing and why he is empty. He misses his son, Benjamin.

After observing Maggie's silence, Pope adds, "That's exactly what I thought."

He casts a look over her, quickly, taking in all necessary details. He notes that she looks worn, tired, and that she appears thinner like she hasn't been eating.

"Been skipping meals, have you?" he asks her.

The silence gives Pope his answer; yes, she has.

He sighs, and there is no bitterness or anger in this sigh but rather concern which causes Maggie a great deal of confusion because Pope has never cared about her and he never will care about her.

"Why are you doing that, for?" he questions, tilting his head to the side.

"Don't." she answers, firmly.

He shakes his head. "What, you just lost your appetite or something?" he asks, ignoring her demand for him to stop prying in to her life.

In these past days, Maggie hasn't been able to eat much. It's not because she hasn't wanted to eat, because she has, but she's found it difficult to stomach much after the revelations of the aliens controlling Hal came to light.

"We're done, here." she says, quickly.

Maggie glances away from Pope and moves to step away from him but he stops her, by grabbing on to her wrist. He grabs her wrist with a gentleness that surprises Maggie. She reluctantly lifts her gaze to meet Pope's gaze and she finds that he is already watching her. He seems to wear an expression of understanding, and knowledge, on his features as though he has just come to some sort of revelation.

Pope states, loudly, "Been cutting back on your meals since Henry left."

"No." she says, coldly. She pauses before she says, much more fiercely, "And you don't get to say his name."

With the tiniest hint of a frown on his features, Pope retorts, "Why? I never hurt the kid. I didn't force you to send him away, did I? No, if I'm remembering correctly, it was Mason Junior-"

Maggie pulls her arm, forcefully, out of Pope's grip and away from him. She answers, confidently, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"It wasn't Mason-Junior, though, was it?" he asks, stepping towards her despite that it is clear that she doesn't want to be close to him, or anyone else, right now. He continues, with a lower but more menacing voice, "It was the goddamn crawlies."

"Since when do you-" Maggie begins.

Without finishing off her words, Pope knows what she was going to say. She was going to ask why he would stick up for Hal, why he would defend him, because he has never cared about him in the past.

Pope says, almost hissing, "I don't care about Mason-Junior or the rest of his bug infested, and infected, family."

As Pope meets her gaze, emptiness, pain and darkness are mirrored in their eyes.

"So, actually, Maggie-May, despite your refusal to believe so I do know what I'm talking about." he says, pushing her because he can't help himself, he can't stop himself.

Pope is lonely, and empty, and he misses his son more than he could ever admit to himself or anyone else. Benjamin's absence has left a gaping hole in his life that he can only fill with bitterness and darkness.

He nods, briefly, before he draws in a sharp breath. Almost with a snarl on his face, he says, "I know quite well, actually, and that's what frightens you, isn't it? Well, that and the darkness, and the hospitals and….From what I gather, of you distancing yourself from him, Mason-Junior also frightens you?"

He watches her closely, intently, as he _almost _waits and expects some form of emotion but Pope knows Maggie too well and so he knows she won't show any emotion because she won't allow herself to feel anything.

Still, Pope continues because he can't stop himself even though, as the words pass his lips, he wants to.

"He frightens you because he's like you, now. He isn't pure. He isn't good. He isn't the _saviour_, the _defender_, of the Second Mas anymore." he states; a dark, dripping bitterness drips of the words 'saviour' and 'defender' as they pass Pope's lips.

"I'd say that you're frightened of him because of the blood that covers him…." Pope begins, stepping towards Maggie as he speaks so that he may whisper these last words. "And he just reeks of it!" he exclaims. He pauses, briefly, before he glances down to Maggie's hands. "But, then again, you're hands…." he murmurs, and as he glances down to her hands again he finds them resting on her gun, which is holstered around her waist.

"Go on." he says, almost daring her to shoot him and end the agony, the misery, and the emptiness he feels without his son.

She silently stares at him for a moment longer before she says, sharply and coldly, "Go to hell."

She turns away from him, as quickly as she can, and uses all of her strength to not turn back and punch Pope in the face, as she so badly wants to. He's out of line and she knows he's only acting this way because he misses his son. But still, that gives him no excuse to say these cruel, untrue things to her.

Pope calls out, loudly, "I don't know if you've failed to notice this, Maggie-May, but we're already there!"

* * *

After searching for his brother, Isaac finds him; inside a room, towards the front of the library, with Broderick and Ronald. As he catches sight of Isaac, standing in the doorway, Logan barely glances up.

"What is it?" Logan asks, leaning over his table with Broderick and Ronald by his side.

"Can we have a word?" Isaac asks.

Broderick lifts his gaze, slowly, towards Isaac and after giving him a small, sly, smile he turns towards Logan. He simply nods at Logan, meaning that they've got it sorted but what exactly it is they've got sorted Isaac doesn't know.

"What is it?" Logan repeats; as he speaks he takes a step back from his desk.

He turns towards Isaac and slowly steps towards him. He holds his brother's gaze, directly, and waits for him to speak.

"It's about Hal Mason." Isaac informs him.

Logan remains impassive, unreadable, as he hears this. He nods, once, before he asks, "What about them, Isaac?"

Isaac sighs, softly, before he speaks with a confident voice. "I don't believe that he had any control of what he did." Isaac states.

"You don't believe it?" Logan asks, crossing his arms.

Isaac nods. "I don't believe he had any control whatsoever." he says.

"Well, as touching as that is, it means nothing to me whether you believed he had control or not. The lives of the fighters matter to me, not the lives of-"

"Hal Mason is a fighter, he was – before this." Isaac begins.

Logan replies, quickly, "He shot two of his fellow men. He tried to shoot others. And, he led the aliens directly to us."

"You know…." Isaac says. "Hal and Tom Mason, are people like us. I think that we should ease up on them and that you should take into consideration, when determining what you will do, that-"

"You always were the weakest brother, weren't you?" Logan asks, unfolding his arms, as he steps towards Isaac. "They are not people, like us. We are not carriers of alien infestations. We do not consort with the enemy. We do not shoot or turn against our own men. We do not betray our brothers, our fellow fighters, and we do not leave each other in times of need as they have done." Logan says.

He pauses, only briefly, before he continues with a colder voice, "Tom, Hal and Ben Mason have all been linked to the aliens on various occasions. Two of the have been harnessed – those harnesses do not appear to ever go away, permanently. They are connected to them. They have all disappeared for weeks, or months, at a time with no real explanation and they _always_ wind up returning to the Second Mass."

Isaac sighs, his expression shifts on his features, as though he has just come to a sudden realisation about his brother's motives behind being so determined to punish Hal and Tom Mason.

"Tom Mason is not our father." Isaac states.

And those few, simple words cause Logan to stiffen up, greatly. His expression hardens and his eyes narrow as he continues to watch Isaac.

Isaac pauses, breathing inwards, before he begins, "And Hal Mason is not our brother. They are not the enemy. You can't blame them for what they had no control over-"

In a fast, forceful movement that Isaac was entirely surprised by, Logan knocks Isaac in the face with the back of his palm; he hits him with such a strong force that his bottom lip is torn open by a tooth in his mouth and his cheek becomes red, and swollen, in seconds.

"You don't get to talk about them." Logan announces, angrily.

Logan doesn't mean that Isaac cannot talk about Tom or Hal Mason – what he means, and what Isaac understands, is that Logan is warning him that he does not get the right to talk about their father, or their brother.

With one last, short glance at his brother, Logan says, "You lost the right to talk about them when we lost them."

* * *

Tom glances up, from where he sits in the armchair in front of Hal, towards the door which has just opened. For a brief second, he expects it to be Maggie or Anne entering and he had hoped it would be but, instead, Isaac enters.

His expression emptier than when he entered, his eyes darker, and his face bloodied and bruised. On his right cheek, where a red mark rests, the beginnings of a nastier bruise appear. His bottom lip is cut, and bloodied, and fresh blood has trickled down on to his chin. From the blood that Tom sees, on Isaac's hand as he closes the door after stepping through it, he assumes that Isaac attempted to stop the bleeding.

"Isaac…" Tom begins, standing slowly from the chair as he speaks. "I-I can only guess that you've spoken to Logan and that they're coming for Hal?" he asks.

Isaac remains impassive, unreadable, as he steps towards Tom and Hal. He glances, briefly, to Hal before he directs his attention back to Tom.

"I plan to speak to Hal, about all that occurred and all that he can and can't recall and if you wish to remain present I will allow it." Isaac states, coldly and formally.

Tom nods, quickly. "Yes, I'd like to. I'd like to stay." he says.

Isaac turns towards Hal, now, a flicker of compassion in his eyes but it's only a flicker and it fades away as quickly as it appeared.

"Where do you want me to start?" Hal asks, lowly, after coughing to clear his throat.

He hesitates, but it's only a brief hesitation, before he says, "From the beginning."

Hal returns to the beginning, the last thing that he can remember before being controlled, and he speaks to Isaac about this but he doesn't talk about it in much detail. He shares with Isaac how Karen forced herself on to him and how that is the last thing that he remembers, clearly.

But, then he sees a flash. He sees a memory that doesn't feel like a memory. He sees it, playing before his eyes. He sees himself standing before a mirror, watching as a bug crawls slowly out of his eyelid and in to his ear. And, as difficult and horrifying as it is, Hal speaks to Isaac, and his father, about this. But it's only a brief conversation because there isn't much to talk about.

Then, it gets difficult. Isaac begins asking questions that Hal doesn't want to answer. He asks whether Hal remembers almost killing Ben, in the forest, and roping his body to the tree and Hal does remember this. This memory is hauntingly new, and fresh, to Hal and he can't stop himself from seeing it or watching as he _almost_ chokes the life out of his brother.

When Isaac mentions Billy, and his disappearance, Hal draws in a sharp, painful breath which causes his whole body to shudder. It takes him a long time to speak, after that. Tom does not prompt Hal for an answer, and Isaac does not speak but rather waits until Hal is ready.

Hal will never be ready to speak of these things. He can barely speak of them now. Hal doesn't want to talk about this, he doesn't want to face it, but he has to. He can't outrun this. He can't survive it.

Hal nods, quickly, and begins to mutter something incoherent. He draws in another, sharper, breath of air as he runs his hands up, roughly, to his hand and then lowers them to his side.

"I did it." he says, his face slowly beginning to contort in to an expression of deep pain.

Hal shakes his head, as Tom moves to comfort him. "Don't." he says, almost warning his father to stay away from him because he is undeserving of his father's or anyone else's comfort. "I did it." he repeats, with an unstable and shaky voice.

"You or the….The bug?" Isaac asks, watching Hal and only Hal as he speaks.

Hal sighs and presses his lips together. He closes his eyes, momentarily, as he murmurs, "It was my….My hands but, uh….Not me. It wasn't – I wouldn't…..I didn't have control."

Isaac remains in his chair for a moment, keeping his eyes firmly on Hal Mason. For a moment, an uncertain silence passes between them and this silence holds so many thoughts, so many possibilities, which are left unspoken and so fall in to the silence.

As Isaac stands from the chair, he takes a slight step back, away, from Tom and Hal Mason and for a second, Tom believes that Isaac is leaving to find the other Marines and all of Tom's fears, about Hal being punished for something he had absolutely no control over, come rushing in.

"Our conversation, and all we have spoken of, shall remain unknown to all." Isaac states, loudly.

Hal remains silence, gazing off at the floor beneath his feet for a moment. Tom nods, quickly, in agreement butt stays quiet as he believes that Isaac has more he wants to say.

"From what I have gathered, Hal Mason poses no threat to the Second Mass." Isaac declares, formally and with no clear emotion. "I do not believe that Hal Mason had any control over his mind or his body, following the events of the mission at the Warehouse, and I do not believe that he holds any information that we do not about the safety and security of the Second Mass. Hal Mason should not be held accountable for his actions as they were not his actions. He should not be deemed as guilty for the civilian death as it was at the hands of the enemy." Isaac states.

He pauses as he glances, towards Tom. Then, he says, with a lowered tone, "All and any information gathered or learned today shall remain strictly confidential. I will not be reporting any of this information to my superiors. Hal Mason will not be held liable or prosecuted for crimes that he did not wilfully commit. This information shall only be held confidential by me if Hal Mason is to agree to the following terms."

Isaac turns towards Hal, as he says, "Firstly, all and any new information or memories that he is to gather, now or in the future, shall be reported to his father who shall, if he deems it to be relevant in any way to the safety or security of any member of the Second Mass, inform me of it. Secondly, and lastly, Hal Mason is to remain with the Second Mass, until the foreseeable future, as he may remember information which could prove to be helpful or essential. Is that understood?"

Tom nods, so quickly, and speaks with such a quick, rushed tone, "I don't understand why you're doing this, Isaac, you don't-"

"We're done, for now." Isaac declares, glancing between the two of them. "If you'll excuse me." he says, before he steps away from them.

Isaac moves towards the door and with no more words, no second glance back, he opens the door and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Tom is uncertain of why Isaac would chose to keep this information to himself and to not punish Hal – Hal does not deserve to be punished, and Tom is relieved that he will not be punished for something he had absolutely no control over. For whatever reason Isaac has done this, Tom is grateful and will forever be grateful.

* * *

Maggie stands, quietly, outside of Hal's room as she waits for Anne to finish tending to Hal's wounds. It's not that she doesn't want to enter, because she does, but before she enters to see Hal, again, she needs a moment.

And this moment that she so desperately needs, to breathe and to try to find some sort of calm, does not come easily to Maggie. Instead, _he_ comes to her.

"Maggie?" he calls out.

Her head snaps, in the left direction, towards the source of the voice. She expects to find a darkness, an empty space, because the darkness comes to her with such ease and, as of lately, she's been finding herself in too many empty spaces.

She doesn't expect to find him, to see him again, but she does and it's almost too much for her. Quickly, she cuts off her feelings as she simply stares at him.

She closes her eyes, breathing inwards and sharply. When she reopens her eyes again, slowly, she finds that she is no longer standing outside of Hal's room. She finds herself in a familiar place, a familiar setting, and as she finds herself in this place she can't help but smile. It's been so long, too long, since she has been here.

She standing at the edge of a small waterhole; the light blue water is clear, and cool, and the light from the early afternoon sun shimmers down on to it, almost turning the top of it gold. She glances down, to her side, to find Robbie standing beside her.

She remembers this day, with ease. Robbie had gotten into, a brief; argument with their parents because he'd wanted to stay home from school tomorrow with her, so that he could go to her doctor's appointment with her. He'd been in a bad mood, for most of the day, because he wanted to be with Maggie like she was always with him whenever he had to go to the doctor's.

"Robbie…." Maggie sighs. "It's just a check-up, nothing more." she promises him.

He pouts, slightly, with his arms crossed over his chest. He worries for her, greatly, she knows this and that's why she loves him so.

"Why don't we go swimming? The water looks beautiful." she says, smiling at him.

Still, he does not smile. He only continues to look up at her, with those beautiful eyes, as though he is begging her to let him come with her tomorrow.

"I guess…." she begins. She pauses, only briefly, before she says, "I'll just have to dunk you in."

And with those last words spoken, Maggie scoops up her brother in her arms and moves towards the water. He fidgets, and wiggles, in her arms as he fights to break free but before he can get free, of her grip, they are both underneath the water.

When they come to the surface, Robbie is grinning, wildly. He loves the water. If he could, he'd spend day after day in it and he can't deny that it is refreshing.

"See? How much better do you feel?" she asks.

"I don't want you to go alone, tomorrow." he admits, the smile faltering on his face.

"I won't be alone." she replies, quickly. "Dad's coming." she adds.

"And you'll call, as soon as you're done?" he asks, making her promise to call him the second that she has finished at the doctors.

"You promise?" he asks, prompting her for a verbal promise.

She nods as she swims towards him. "I promise." she answers, with a smile.

"Maggie…." he begins; but as he speaks the image of him falters before her eyes.

His voice changes, distorting into one belonging to someone else, and in seconds she is dragged away from him and, almost unwillingly, returned to a dark, and haunting, reality.

"Maggie." Anne repeats, pressing a gentle and reassuring hand to Maggie's shoulder.

She flinches at Anne's touch and recoils away, from it, because it's a habit of hers that she can't seem to break entirely.

"I've finished off with Hal. I've instructed that he rest but if you want to see him, quickly, I'll allow that." Anne informs her, watching her carefully and with such love and concern in her eyes.

"Thanks, Anne." Maggie replies, quickly crossing her arms over herself.

She meets Anne's gaze slowly, and remains silent, before she steps past her and moves towards the door to Hal's room. She enters the room to find him lying down, in bed, looking just as weak as when he'd been, lying on the bed, in the med bus.

He wears no shirt; only bandages cover the wounds on his right shoulder, left knee and underneath his collarbone. He manages a small smile as he sees her, but it's more of a grimace than a smile.

She truly has no idea that by simply being here, bringing a momentary flicker of light with her, she is easing his pain so slightly.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her, the smile quickly fading.

She closes the door, behind her, and turns back to face Hal. "Checking in, on you." she answers.

He pauses, pressing his dry lips together. There are words, playing on his tongue that he needs to say. There are things that he needs to say, to tell Maggie, so that she will realise who she is wasting her time on.

She's wasting her time on a broken, weakened monster who is not deserving of her, or anyone else's, love or time – this is what Hal so strongly believes is true.

The truth that he believes is no one needs him; they only think that they do. The sooner that they realise they don't need him, the sooner that they can let him go.

"Uh….." Hal begins, drawing out the word. "You once asked me what the darkest thing I'd ever done was…." he murmurs, purposefully avoiding her gaze.

"Hal…." she whispers, softly, as she continues to step towards him.

"I've done so many dark things, Maggie." he admits, somehow managing to look in to her beautiful eyes. "You said….I didn't have enough dark in my soul but I do. I've got so much dark in my soul. It's all that I've got left. And I don't want – I can't….I don't want to expose you to that."

"Hal." she says, loudly and more firmly. "Don't." she says.

"It's all I've got, Maggie." he admits, sadly and painfully.

She moves to Hal's side, resting down on the edge of his bed, she watches him carefully for a moment before the smallest hint of a smile plays no her pale lips.

"We'll make it out of this, we always do." she says, with the tiniest flicker of hope in her eyes.

"I can't…." he begins.

_You cannot hide from the evil that seeps in through every part of you._

"I can't hide from it….." he admits. "The evil that seeps in….Through every part of me…." he whispers.

His eyes move towards her, watching her as her body tenses up at these words. Her face hardens, all and any hope disappears from her eyes, and somehow she manages to look in to Hal's eyes.

She knows that there is good inside of him, because there always has been. She believes that the good still remains inside of him, it's just buried underneath the guilt, the pain and the darkness but with time, it'll break free. It has to break free.

Her voice is croaky, and low, as she asks, "You remember?"

He nods once. "Fragments." he answers, clenching his jaw tightly together after speaking.

He watches her carefully, closely, expecting her to leave him because she should. He waits for her to walk away, because it's what's best for both of them, but she doesn't.

She begins, "How…."

"Fragments." he repeats.

Hal sits up, slowly and carefully, in bed and as he does he receives no objection from Maggie. She simply moves down so that he may sit on the edge of the bed, beside her. She turns to face him, as he moves to sit beside her.

"I just…." he begins, closing his eyes and drawing in a sharp breath as he pauses. His voice is much lower, much quieter, as he says, "I just…I keep thinking….I could have died."

She remains ever so quiet, watching him carefully, as he lifts his eyes up to meet hers. "I would never have known that I was dead…" he murmurs, briefly casting his gaze away from Maggie.

He presses his lips together, tightly, as he lifts his hands to his head. He scratches at the side of his head, and his forehead, several times before dropping his hands down to his side. "The last thing I would have seen…." he begins, appearing as though he might be physically sick at the thought that comes in to his head. "Karen, pressing that stick to your stomach." he murmurs.

He continues, with an even lower and more defeated voice, "And then she kissed me and that would have been the last thing – it was my last thought and I could have died and never have known….It was like I was asleep, these past weeks, and I could have died without knowing. I just wouldn't have woken up…."

"You're awake now, Hal. You're here now." Maggie says; she has to cough, to clear he throat, as she speaks but somehow she manages to maintain a steady voice.

"I just – I hate that I wouldn't have seen you again, or my family. I hate the thought of never seeing…..Of just - Never waking." he admits, becoming angrier by the second.

Hal's body tenses up, his jaw clenches together, and he runs a frustrated his hand over his hand and down to the back of his neck. He stands from the bed, unable to sit any longer, and presses his hands tightly against his face. He sighs, drawing in a sharp breath, before he lowers his hands from his face and looks to Maggie who he finds is still sitting.

"I wouldn't have seen you…..Kissed you….Held you….." he whispers.

There is, so much, vulnerability in his eyes, such pain written on his face and a dark, deep and haunting, fear in his voice.

Her eyes hold his gaze, for the briefest moment, before she stands from the bed. She steps towards him, slowly and with the tiniest hint of caution, before she places her hands gently on to his cheeks and pulls his face, carefully and slowly, towards her.

She presses her lips, softly, against his and kisses him; she kisses him with such love, but such fear at the thought of losing him.

Hal is uncertain, unsure, and he feels so unworthy of Maggie. His hands falter; he begins to move them to her waist, but doesn't, and then he lowers them down to her back but does not press them against her because he doesn't want to hurt her.

She pulls away, just as Hal was about to, and rests her head against his. Her eyes are closed, tightly, but Hal's are open. He watches her, still with an uncertainty, as she slowly opens her eyes.

He finds that there is something different, in her eyes. It's something that he is unsure of, something he can't remember if he has seen before. She moves, slightly, away from him and watching her pull away from him after a moment of such closeness is so very painful.

Hal begins, quietly, "I'm not…."

He coughs, once, as he slowly lifts his left hand towards his forehead. He rests the points of his fingers against his head, rubbing the skin like he has a horrible headache and he does. His mind aches, constantly, with a pain that he hasn't felt before.

"You didn't lose me." she states.

But, despite Maggie's attempt to reassure him that he didn't lose her, Hal feels differently. He feels like he has lost her. She's still with him, physically, but she's withdrawn. She pulls away from him, quickly, and doesn't allow herself to be too close to him for long.

The kiss, moments earlier….It occurred in a moment of darkness, and desperation, after he'd confessed his fears that he'd never kiss her again. This kiss had been different. It hadn't been the same, as the previous ones. The feelings of love, and the bond that they had once shared, still remained but they were both weakened greatly. A feeling of reluctance, of hesitance, overpowered the kiss and it felt empty. He felt further apart from Maggie now than he had moments earlier.

"Maggie…." he whispers, and her name sounds so sad as it passes his lips.

He moves towards her, taking a single step to reach her, breathing in a sharp breath of air as he does. His hands seem uncertain, unsure, as he tries to reach for her but he gives up, instead lowering his hands to his side.

"Before….The…." he says, pausing slightly. "I think….I need to rest." he says, and she understands that he wants to be alone while he sleeps.

She nods, once, as she continues to hold his gaze. "I'll come by later." she says, pausing ever so briefly before she steps towards the door.

"Okay…." he murmurs, returning to the bed where he slowly lies down.

Hal returns to the bed slowly, carefully, setting his body down with an ease so that it doesn't ache. He lies straight, and still, as the door closes and once he is alone, he lifts his hands to his face. He presses his fingers against the top of his forehead, digging his nails, slightly, in to the skin. His grip on his face tightens; he removes his nails from his skin, as he presses his lips together in an attempt to prevent the sob he feels rising in the back of his throat.

And he does prevent the sob; he prevents it by channelling his anger instead of the emptiness and sadness that he feels consuming him, quickly. He begins to writhe, with anger and pain, in the bed and is unable to stay still for a moment.

The anger that he feels begins to fade, as his strength does, and in minutes his arms lay collapsed, by his side, as his chest heaves heavily in and out. The faintest feeling of blood, trickling down his forehead, tells him that he'd pressed his nails in deeper than he'd intended to but he doesn't feel this pain because it's nothing in comparison to everything else that he is feeling.

He glances up, towards the table at the end of his bed, and finds something that catches his attention. He gets up from his bed slowly, with no concern for the pain that accompanies this movement, and slowly steps towards the table. His fingers linger on the lid of the pill bottle before he picks it up and examines its contents.

He pauses, briefly, before he unscrews the lid and in one mouthful, he swallows half of the pills. He swallows from the glass of water, at the table beside his bed, before he begins to walk around the room.

He doesn't need to rest, or to sleep. What Hal believes that he needs is to move, and to keep moving, so that he can recover. In time, he will recover. All that he needs is more time but in this world time is not guaranteed to anyone.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you, so much, to every single person who takes the time to read my story. I truly am so thankful that you read my story and (hopefully) enjoy it. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. :)**

**On another note...Oh my god! Have you seen the tiny speak peek for Season 3?! If you haven't, go and find it. It's intense! I can't wait!**

**I apologise in advance for any spelling mistakes you might find. (I hope that there are none, as I've read over it thoroughly)**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	62. A cold heart buried beneath

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

The room that Anne finds Ben in is cold, icy and dimly lit by the light that has seeped in through the windows of the fading afternoon sun. She pauses as she reaches the open door, unsure of how to proceed.

"Everything okay, Doctor Glass?" Ben asks, speaking softly and without moving.

He stands slowly, from where he'd rested on the end of his bed with his back towards Anne, and turns to face her. His face is pale, tired, and looks worn with stress.

Anne smiles, softly. "How are you doing, Ben?" she asks, taking a step towards him.

With such an impassive voice, and such an unreadable expression, Ben replies, "I'm fine."

"Good." Anne nods, still smiling. "Good." she repeats.

As he notes a certain look on Anne's features, like she wants to speak of something but is unsure of how to approach the subject, Ben releases a small sigh.

"Whatever you have to say, you can." Ben states, simply and softly.

"Okay." Anne replies. She asks, softly, "Have you been to see your brother?"

With no pause or moment of silence, Ben answers, "No, my brother is in Charleston."

Anne says, quietly, "I meant Hal."

"He's not my brother, not right now anyway." Ben adds, still holding Anne's gaze.

She sighs, softly, as she takes another step towards him. She begins, "Ben, you shouldn't…."

"Shouldn't say what I'm thinking? I shouldn't say the truth?" he asks, tilting his head to the side. "Well, it is the truth, Anne. To me, it's the truth." he adds.

"He's still your brother, Ben." Anne announces, still with such a soft and understanding voice. "He still cares about you, and loves you-"

"I know." Ben says, sharply. "I know that." he repeats, with a voice that is slightly softer and calmer. "And I still care about him, I still love him, but I can't…"

"I understand that this must be incredibly difficult for you right now, Ben. I do." Anne says, sympathetically and soothingly. She pauses, briefly, before she says, "But, you have to try to see things from Hal's perspective."

"Hal's perspective?" Ben asks.

"Yes…"Anne begins. She pauses, again, as she sighs softly. "Physically, he isn't well. He isn't the strongest he's been. Mentally, he's unstable and I'm worried about him, Ben. I am. I'm worried about Hal, and your father, and you – and I'm worried about Matt all the way in Charleston. All that I can do to help you right now, to help all of you, is to try to bring you together." she says; her voice, while remaining soft and gentle, becomes slightly shaky towards the end.

It is clear to Ben, now, just how much Anne truly cares about him, and his brothers and father, and he worries, greatly, about every single thing that she has just spoken about worrying about. He wishes he could find some way to ease her worries, and his father's worries, but he isn't sure how he can do such a thing.

"You need to support each other, care for each other, and love each other." Anne states. "Things can get better, they will." she promises.

Ben shakes his head. "Everything has changed." he admits. You just can't see it." he says, with a slightly sadder tone.

"Help me see it then, Ben." Anne says, almost pleading. She continues, still with a soft and caring tone, "Because all that I see is a scared, lonely and injured person who is desperately seeking some form of compassion, or love, from his brother. And he misses his brothers, he does."

"Don't you think I want to be there, for him?" Ben asks, his expression shifting into that of an unreadable one as he speaks. "I know, if our places had been reversed, the old Hal would be there in a heartbeat for me because the old Hal was strong, and brave, and he always put his family first." he says, holding Anne's gaze as the words pass his lips.

Ben pauses, only for the briefest second. He continues, with a lower voice, "But the person in there, that's not the old Hal. It can't be. It's not him and I can't – I can't be the person that he needs me to be, right now, because I'm not strong and he's not my brother right now."

Anne shakes her head as she slowly presses her hands to her lips. She closes her eyes, briefly, before she opens them to find Ben standing quiet, and still, before her. His eyes show the pain, and the sadness, that he will not allow his face to show or admit that he is feeling.

"If we help him…" she begins.

"Help him?" Ben asks, sounding shocked by such a ridiculous notion that he could help his brother. "I can't help him, I've never been able to help him." he admits sadly, painfully.

"That's not true." Anne insists.

"But it is!" Ben replies, much louder than he'd ever intended to. "If I hadn't been taken by the aliens and harnessed, then Hal wouldn't have had to look for me. Karen wouldn't have been captured, and harnessed, and she wouldn't have been turned in to the enemy – into the Overlord's pet."

"It wasn't your fault, Ben. None of this-" Anne begins, softly, but stops as Ben continues to speak.

"If she hadn't been captured and controlled, she wouldn't have been so focused on Hal – she wouldn't have put the harness on his back and put those things through his body. They wouldn't have scarred him, and broke him." Ben admits, sadly, stopping only to run a hand through his hair and down to his neck.

"And, my-my, Dad." he stutters. "He wouldn't have walked on to the alien ship where they hurt him, and put the bug in him, and Karen wouldn't have – she wouldn't have targeted Hal and Maggie, at the warehouse, and they wouldn't have lost…." he murmurs, softly.

Ben's voice rises, loudly, as he continues, "Hal wouldn't have been bugged and controlled by the Overlord. He wouldn't have all of the blood on his hands that he does! He wouldn't have lost all that blood! He would still be himself but he isn't right now and he isn't my brother. It's my fault, OK? I can't see him. I won't see him. He's not my brother."

Tom, who had been standing unnoticed in the doorway, asks, softly, "Is that how you really feel, Ben?"

Ben turns around, quickly, to find his father watching him with an exhausted, pained expression on his face.

He sighs, lowly. "Don't pretend it's not how you feel, Dad. Don't pretend it's not what you're thinking, too." Ben says, with a much lower and defeated voice.

"No. No, it's not, Ben." Tom answers, honestly. "It's not what I think, or what I feel. Not at all." he adds, stepping slowly towards Ben. "And Hal, he doesn't think it either."

"I know." Ben agrees. "He blames himself." he adds, with a much softer voice.

"He shouldn't blame himself and you shouldn't blame yourself." Tom says, gently. "None of this was yours or his fault." he adds.

Ben shakes his head once, in disbelief. "It's all my fault. It all links back to me, being harnessed."

"Ben…" Tom sighs, stepping slowly towards Ben. He places his hands, softly, on to Ben's shoulders as he says, "It's not your fault. I don't think it, you shouldn't either. And Hal, he's your brother-"

"But I don't deserve him as a brother." Ben answers, sharply, unintentionally cutting Tom off completely. "I mean…I've abandoned him and believed he was something he wasn't…There have been points where I haven't trusted him at all. And, when he wanted his spikes removed all that I could think was he didn't want to be a freak, like me, but he didn't care. He was doing it for me so I'd live. And you've-you've both see his back, haven't you? It's infected and scarring and if the infection gets worse, he could die, and it's because of me." Ben says; as he speaks his voice varies between points of anger, at himself, and he finds that he cannot hold his father's gaze for the entire time as he speaks.

"He won't." Tom reassures him.

But despite how badly Ben wants to believe these words, he can't. Hal has been through too much and there is still a chance he won't make it, a chance he won't survive.

"I used to think that, Dad." Ben admits, sadly, as he takes a step away from his father and removes his hands from his shoulders. "I used to think that it was impossible that Hal would ever get seriously sick, or hurt. I thought it was impossible for him to die but it's not. It's very possibly. It's possible we could lose him and he'd just be gone and we'd never get him back." he says, with a much lower voice.

"WE won't lose him." Tom says, with a louder and more confident voice.

Still, Ben cannot believe these words.

Ben shakes his head, again. "We could lose him and it would be my fault. I'm sorry, I want to see him but I can't and I won't – not yet."

"You say we could lose him?" Tom asks, drawing in a long, sharp breath of air. He nods, quickly, as he admits, "Fine, I'll admit it, Ben. We could. It's still a possibility but it's not a big one. It's still there. Wouldn't you want to see him?"

Ben steps towards the door, and as he reaches it he says, softly, "I'd want to remember him as he was, before this, before…I did this to him."

* * *

After she had left Hal to rest, Maggie had returned to the room that she had been resting in, on the odd occasion that she wasn't with Hal. She hadn't slept in days, weeks perhaps, and while she knows that she had to rest, that she needs to, she finds that she can't.

Maggie enters her room to find that it is not exactly how she left it. She finds Isaac, sitting in an armchair at the side of her bed. As he catches sight of her he sits up, quickly, and manages a small smile.

She notices the bruise on his face, and his cut lip, straight away. Still, he smiles at her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to – you know, intrude." he admits, as he watches her slowly enter the room.

He notes, straight away, that her eyes had, briefly, remained on his bruise and then his swollen lip. He isn't bothered by this, though, and Maggie says nothing about them but rather continues on as though they don't exist.

"It's…Uh…It's ok." she admits, a slight frown forming on her face.

"My mother used to say that I had no, er…I can't think of the world. I had difficulty noting one's personal boundaries, I think? I guess it was because I would climb in to bed with her, or my brother's, when I was much younger, without asking. I don't know." he says, managing a small smile as he remembers his mother's words.

The smile falters on Isaac's face as he realises that this is the first time, since her death, that he has spoken of his mother, or his family, to anyone. He draws in a sharp, almost painful breath as he takes a slight step back away from Maggie.

"You okay, Isaac?" she asks, with a small worry clear in her eyes.

"Oh, this?" he asks, gesturing towards the bruise on his cheek and then to his puffy lip. "I tripped up the stairs." he lies.

Maggie knows that Isaac is lying, she can just tell, but still she doesn't push him for what really happened because she believes that if he wanted to talk about it he would.

"What are you…." she begins, lowly.

"What am I doing here?" he asks.

She nods, simply, in response.

"That's a good question, that is. I'm afraid I don't have much of an answer except I thought of something that I had to tell you. It's been on my mind since our last conversation, about Hal."

"Okay…." she murmurs, watching Isaac very closely and carefully.

"Yes, well – what it is…" he begins. "Every person, every single person, on this planet has a purpose. We have each been placed on here for a purpose, a reason, and that purpose may be a good one or a bad one or it could be a mix of the two. What I mean, is… What I'm trying to say is that your purpose, your reason for existing or for being placed on this planet, could be for Hal and Hal for you."

"When did you become so wise?" she asks, with the tiniest hint of a smile forming on her lips.

"Oh, Maggie..." Isaac sighs. "Oh, naïve, naïve Maggie." he says, sighing much louder now. He pauses before he states, "I've always been this wise - you've just failed to notice as you've been far too speedy to."

Maggie manages a smaller smile, at this, as she remembers their conversations in which he'd called her speedy, or Heathcliff. She realises now what she has always known, even if she'd never realised she'd known it – Isaac is her friend. He's been a good friend to her, even when she was undeserving of it, and so she wants to be a good friend of his.

"You had someone…" she begins, softly, as she finally speaks. She asks, quietly, "A purpose?"

He nods, as he stands slowly from the bed. He says, impassively, "Yes, I did."

Maggie hesitates before she asks, "What was her name?"

Isaac pauses before he says, softly, "Jonathon."

As he notes the flicker of confusion on Maggie's face, at a woman being named Jonathon, he quickly speaks again.

"I mean, it wasn't – I'm not…His name was Jonathon." he says, slowly meeting her gaze.

She does not pause to ask, "Was?"

"Yes." Isaac replies, nodding ever so slightly.

He stands still, his body stiffened, almost frozen. He appears, for a moment, not to breathe. Then, he sighs deeply, loudly, and closes his eyes as he runs his hand over his face and to the bridge of his nose where it rests as he murmurs, "He had light brown hair, curls, and the greenest eyes I've ever seen….My best-friend, the reason for my existence."

He opens his eyes, with a slight reluctance, to find Maggie watching him silently.

He pauses before he states, "I'm sorry. This must be awfully awkward for you."

Maggie's frown deepens. "It's not." she insists. "It really isn't." she says, truthfully.

Isaac hesitates, as he watches her carefully as though he is trying to read her and decode her true feelings and thoughts.

"You're sure?" he asks, finally.

She nods. "Yes." she answers, simply.

He sighs, again, softly before he mutters, quietly, "I still believe, to this day, that he was the smartest, kindest person to exist. He was a beautiful soul, with a kind heart, and he was the most wonderful person to have walked this earth."

Maggie seems hesitant, now, as she holds Isaac's, surprisingly, unwavering gaze.

"How'd you meet?" she asks.

"He saved my life." Isaac answers, simply, sadly and honestly.

Maggie begins, softly, "And now, he's…"

"He's gone." Isaac says, loudly. He pauses before he adds, "He died when the aliens…"

"I'm sorry." she says, still holding his gaze.

"No, Maggie." he says; as he speaks the tiniest smile flickers on his face. "Don't be." he tells her. "There's no need to be. Of course, I miss him, in every single second that passes me in every day I've spent without. When you find someone who just…consumes you so entirely, so completely, you'll understand what I mean when I say I don't exist without him."

"I'm sorry…" she says, softly.

Isaac sighs, briefly. "Maggie." he begins, as he lifts his eyes to hold her gaze. "There's no reason to be sorry. I'm not because I'll see him, I know I will, and then all of this pain, and this separation, will just fade away."

"He was…uh…Your…Purpose?" Maggie asks, looking away, only briefly, from Isaac.

Isaac nods. "I believe so. I believe I was put here for him...And, I believe, he's the only person I'll ever want….If you, uh…If you have that, with Hal, don't let it go, Maggie. Don't let him go because it's difficult, or it's painful, or things are different now because the pain fades away if you have them, by your side, to ease the pain. But if you don't have them, if you lose them, you're alone and the pain will be with you always."

He pauses before he states, "A little pain now is better than a lifetime condemned to it."

* * *

Dai moves slowly, but with no hesitation or reluctance, towards the room that he knows he will find Hal in. He had considered, many times before now, coming to see Hal but none of those times had felt right. He hadn't decided he would come to visit Hal – it had just happened. His feet had led him in this direction, towards the room he'd passed by many nights, and days, earlier but could never enter.

As he reaches the door he pauses, drawing in a small breath of air. The reason he hasn't been able to enter, until know, is because he knows that Hal is different. He knows about the bug, in Hal's head, and he knows that he has changed in many ways and some of these changes may be irreversible.

Perhaps, he couldn't bring himself to enter until know is because he'd known, truly, that Hal would not be the same person, that he'd thought of as his brother, that he was months early. He would still be Hal but parts of him would be different. Dai knew this but he found it hard to accept this. He found it so very difficult to accept what the aliens had done to him and how Hal had been forced to do such terrible things, such as shooting his fellow fighters. He knew Hal, well, and so he knew Hal wouldn't be able to move past the guilt he surely felt with ease.

Dai had wanted to ease Hal's pain, and his guilt, and so that was his purpose for coming here, in this moment. The other reason he had wanted to see Hal was because he cared for him and missed him.

He grips the handle of the door, hesitating for only a moment longer, before he turns it slowly and steps through in to Hal's room. A flicker of panic washes over him as he doesn't find Hal in his bed, or resting in a chair, but rather lying with his face flat on the ground, in the middle of the room.

Dai rushes, quickly, towards Hal's side and as he reaches it he kneels down and presses a hand to Hal's back.

"Hal?" he calls out, as he prepares to roll him over.

But Hal turns his head, to look at him, a sweat breaking out on his forehead. And that's when Dai sees it, the tiny cuts at the top of Hal's forehead, just before his hairline. He glances at them and as he does, Hal knows exactly what he is looking at. Neither says a word because they don't have to.

"Dai?" Hal asks, moving so that he is kneeling instead of lying on the ground.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Dai asks. "Want me to get Doctor Glass?" he asks, as he moves to stand.

Hal shakes his head, once. "I was doing push-ups." Hal says, simply, as he continues to hold Dai's gaze.

The frown on Dai's features deepens, slightly, as he asks, "Push-ups?"

"I wanted to build up my strength." Hal answers.

He'd spent, just over, the last hour working out and re-building his strength and while every movement had been painful, he hadn't stopped because he believed, truly, in his heart that he was deserving of this pain.

"Dai thinks you're crazy for doing push-ups." Dai says; as he speaks he grips on to Hal's shoulder and helps him to stand from the ground. "Dai thinks you almost gave him a heart-attack."

"Why are you talking in third person?" Hal asks, as a frown threatens to form on his face.

The smile on Dai's lips falters, as he asks, "You don't remember?"

Hal clenches his jaw tightly together, causing them muscles in his cheeks to tense up. He lowers his head, slightly, as he removes his shoulder from Dai's grip. He takes a step back, away from Dai, as he says, "What are you doing here?"

"Hal, man, I didn't…." Dai begins, lowly.

"You didn't do anything." Hal assures him.

Dai shifts, slightly, in his stance as he asks, "You sure, man? I'm sorry, I didn't…"

Hal pauses before he admits, quietly, "I'm having trouble, with my memory."

Dai asks, with a lower voice, "How much you having trouble with, brother?"

Hal hesitates as he silently considers how he will answer this question. If he's honest with Dai, and he tells him that he's missing most of his memories, then Dai will surely tell Tom or Anne and this will only cause them further worry which he doesn't want to do.

"Little bit…." Hal admits. "I, uh…I'm tired, brother. I think I need to sleep." he adds, briefly breaking his gaze with Dai.

Dai nods and hesitates before he steps forward and embraces Hal, tightly. "It's just good to have you back, brother." Dai says.

"It's good to be back." Hal replies, effortlessly.

Hal knows the truth, even if no one else does. The truth is he isn't back, he isn't who he was. He doesn't remember who he was, or what else he has done, but he knows that he isn't the person he one was and he knows that he can't go back to being who he was.

* * *

Hal falls to sleep in darkness, falling deeper into the darkness once he is asleep. But even as sleep claims him, and the darkness takes him, he does not find peace. He cannot find peace anywhere he roams and he longs to roam, far away from here, away from all of those that he has caused such pain.

He longs to sleep without the flashes, the hauntings, the taunting reminders of everything that he has done but they do not cease to haunt him, torture him and destroy him.

His mind is still weak, his memory still lacking and unsteady, and he finds that he is unable to recall the simplest of things at times. Some mornings, when he wakes, he remembers some scenes clearly but on other mornings, or nights, when he wakes breathing heavily, sweating, and unable to find peace until he finds light, nothing is clear.

He is torn; torn by his mind and his heart. His heart longs for him to feel loved, to feel that he is cared for and that he is worth saving, that there is a chance he might be saved, and that there is light somewhere in the darkness. His mind wishes to be abandoned, wishes for him to be forsaken, it wishes for him to never find the light because he is not deserving of it just as he is not deserving of anyone else.

He wants to remain with them, to protect them. He wants to stay with his family because he needs them but they don't need him anymore. He isn't who he was. He isn't strong, he isn't good, and he can't protect them like he once could. If he left, he could protect them, his mind whispers. But his heart, is begs him to stay because without his family he would cease to exist.

But then he is reminded that he doesn't exist, not anymore, and all that remains is a undeserving, empty, corpse who has nothing left to give.

There are moments when he wants to feel worthy, when he wants to love and be loved but he fears that he has forgotten how to do such simple things

How can he love someone he is undeserving of? How can he not feel guilt, in his every waking moment, if he were to ask her to love him after all that he is and all that he has become?

She has always been better than him; he has always known this and believed this. But before, he felt somewhat worthy of her but that worthiness disappeared the moment that he disappeared.

He could never ask her to love him for what he is. He could never expect his family to love him and all that he is. He should leave them but he can't because he could never put them through such a thing while they remain under the illusion that they need him.

They need him for nothing because he can give them, and provide them with, nothing.

For flickering moments, he believes there might be a way out but then the truth dawns upon him and he knows that there is no way out alive, for him. There is no escape for him.

And then, it all comes crashing down on to him and he breaks. He wakes from his sleep, chest heaving as though he was being held underneath the water, and he gasps for air like a man who has been forbidden it for eternity.

His hands tremble, his body shakes, and his eyes dart around the room as they wait for the sinister monster, the tormenter, the torturer to appear and they appear in his mind and he's entirely alone, up there, and he can't fight them so he lets them take him and force him to relive every achingly painful moment that he is so deserving of.

He clenches his hands tightly, into balls in his fist, until his hands begin to bleed the tainted blood that flows through him. He searches the room, desperately, until he finds what he was searching for. He finds a corner that he moves in to, and he sits in it, but before he moves to this corner he looks frantically until he finds anything which he can turn in to a makeshift weapon, if needed.

He sits there, alone, in the dark room as he waits his inevitable, but deserving, fate and when his fate does not claim him yet he slowly begins to fall asleep.

And when he wakes, sometime later, he finds himself in his bed with the blankets covering his body and with fresh bandages covering the tiny wounds he created on his palms. He feels a bandage on his forehead but he cannot remember, in this moment, how he sustained the injury to his head.

For a moment, and only a brief moment, he will wonder how exactly he came to be in his bed and then, he sees Maggie, sitting half slumped in the armchair by his bedside. He wonders how she managed to lift his body from the ground and to his bed. He feels an unforgettable guilt as he wonders what thoughts might have crossed her mind as she'd found him on the floor.

He finds that she looks unwell, as he watches her. The worry, and the pain, has caught up to her and all of these feelings of pain are clear on her face, even as she rests. But Hal knows, even now, that as she sleeps it isn't peacefully and she isn't really sleeping. He knows in seconds, if a single finger were to rest upon her, she would wake. She doesn't allow herself to sleep properly.

And he hates what he has done to her but he hates even more what he is doing to her. He's causing her all of her worries, and pain. All that he has ever wanted to do is love her and look after her but he can't do that without causing her further pain.

Hal is torn. He's torn between what he wants and what he needs. He's torn between what he feels unworthy of and what he thinks that he may, one day in the future, deserve.

He wants Maggie, with all of his heart and his soul, but he needs her to feel better. He needs her to get better and he needs her to heal and so his needs outweigh his wants. He will always put Maggie before himself.

Hal wants to be around his family, because he loves them so much, and he wants to feel as though he is a part of his family again but he also needs them to heal. He needs them to realize that they don't need him anymore, as much as they'd like to believe otherwise. He wants to be needed, he wants to help them and protect them, but he knows that he is incapable of doing such things that used to come easily to Hal.

He feels unworthy of her, and of his family, and he feels unworthy of their love, their care, and their trust. He is undeserving of all of it but still, even as he recognizes and accepts that he is undeserving and unworthy, the tiniest part of him thinks that there might be the tiniest possibility that one day in the future, if he makes it to that day, that he might feel deserving of their affection.

Maggie stirs in her chair. She doesn't wake slowly, because she wasn't completely asleep. As she opens her eyes she finds that Hal is awake, and watching her with a deeply mixed and unreadable expression on his features.

She watches him for a moment before she speaks, and when she does her face is emotionless and her voice is so impassive that Hal detects no emotion in it.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

"Okay." he replies, lowly and effortlessly.

"Hal…." she sighs, softly, and he knows what she is about to say.

"I'm fine, Maggie." he says, with a little more effort this time.

Hal moves, slowly, in his bed and repositions himself so that he is sitting upwards. He holds Maggie's unwavering gaze as he moves and finds that she remains just as emotionless and unreadable as she was seconds earlier.

Maggie begins, softly, "I found you…."

She pauses, drawing in a small breath of air, before she says, "On the floor, in the corner of the room."

Hal simply nods at this, in response to Maggie's statement, because he's not entirely sure what he should say back to it. He doesn't really have anything to say back to it.

"What, you're- You're not going to say anything?" she asks, moving so that she's sitting on the very edge of her seat. "You're not going to tell me how you wound up in the corner of the room, on the cold floor, with this shank made of-" she begins.

"I don't have anything to say." he admits, with a much louder voice than he'd intended to speak with.

"You don't have anything to say?" she asks, a flicker of shakiness slipping through her voice. "I found you there, your palms bleeding, with dried blood on your head and you have nothing to say?" she asks.

Hal does not pause to respond, "Sometimes, there's nothing to be said. Sometimes, things are better off left unsaid."

"I know that." Maggie nods, standing from her chair. She steps towards Hal, breathing inwards. "You think I don't know that?" she asks. She pauses, again, before she states, "But this, this is different, Hal."

"Why?" he asks.

He moves forward, in his bed, and slowly, while muffled groans attempt to pass his lips, readjusts his body so that he is sitting on the very edge of his bed. He lifts his legs over the side, and down to the ground, and when he has finished he looks up at Maggie.

"How is it different?" he asks.

"Because it's you, Hal." Maggie answers, as though it is such an obvious thing.

What Maggie means, what she doesn't say but what Hal understands clearly, is that she believes it is different with Hal because he's better, than she is. It's different because he shouldn't hold things in like she does.

"It's you." she murmurs, with a quieter voice.

"It's not." Hal replies, quickly. "I'm not me, Maggie. Not anymore." he says, and he sounds so sure, so certain, that he is not the person that he once was. He begins, lowly, "I don't understand why you can't-"

"Can't what, Hal?" she asks, taking a single step towards him. "Accept it?" she asks. She gestures to herself, with her right hand, as she says, "I won't accept it because it's not true and you know that, in your heart-"

Accidentally, and unintentionally, cutting Maggie off, Hal says, simply, "In my heart I know the truth."

She hesitates, as she takes in his words and the true meaning which lurks behind them.

"What, and I don't know the truth?" she asks. With a slightly louder, but shakier, voice she asks, "What are you keeping from me, Hal?"

Hal begins, to mutter, "There's-"

"Something." she says. "You're keeping something." she states, and she's so sure that he's keeping something from her because she can see it in his darkened eyes.

"It's nothing." he insists.

But Maggie knows the truth, she's knows that he's keeping something, because she knows him better than she knows herself.

"No, it's not nothing, Hal." she replies, quickly and with no pause or moment of hesitation. She says, with a slower and quitter voice, "You're not nothing, okay? You're all I have."

Hal shakes his head, once, as he slowly lowers his head down in to his palms. His head stinks as it harshly makes contact with his palms, which also sting from the impact.

"That's not true, Maggie." he mutters, lowly, without bothering to look up at Maggie.

"It is true." she says, firmly, confidently, and with the tiniest ring of hope in her voice

His voice is barely above a whisper as he replies, "Don't say that. Just, don't."

"Why not, Hal?" Maggie asks, watching him carefully as she speaks. "It's the truth. That's our truth." she says, and somehow she's still hopeful, she's still determined to show him this truth which she believes that he can't see but Hal can see it.

The truth is painfully, constantly, and hauntingly clear to Hal. Maggie, and his father, are both equally blinded to the truth and it is this blindness that leads to their ignorance. But, Ben is not blinded to the truth. He has witnessed it. He knows what Hal truly is, underneath his physical appearance. Ben can underneath his skin and inside of him; he sees his rotted heart, which is almost not strong enough to continue on, and he can see the veins in which tainted, poisoned and blackened blood flows through.

"You can't…" Hal begins; he stops and releases a short, tired sigh.

"What?" Maggie asks; her voice rises but not with anger, with a confusion due to her inability to see the truth. She asks, "I can't, what, Hal?"

Hal slowly lifts his head from his hands, which are covered with copious amounts of the blood of others, to meet Maggie's gaze.

"You can't tell me I'm all you have." he states, as though it is so simple that she should have already known she shouldn't tell him such a thing. "You don't understand how that makes me feel." he admits, sounding so dejected as he speaks.

He holds her unwavering gaze, watching her brown eyes swirl with more confusion, for a moment until he finds the words to speak again.

"It makes me feel guilty, Maggie, even more guilty if that's possible, at all." he says; as he speaks his voice is dry, raspy, and empty of anything remotely close to a feeling.

She moves towards him, remaining entirely silent as she does. She kneels down, slowly, in front of Hal so that she may meet his gaze and so that he can't look away, he can't run, and he can't avoid this anymore.

"Hal…" she begins.

As she says his name, she watches as he tilts his head like he might turn it away from her but he doesn't. She finds that she is almost frightened by the emptiness in his eyes which were once full of light, and love, but are now hollow and filled with nothing.

"Why do you feel guilty?" she asks, softly, soothingly, as she continues to hold his gaze.

She won't look away because she can't. She can't lose him, she can't let him believe that she isn't here for him because she is, and she can't let him feel such guilt for things that he had no control over.

Hal begins, quietly, "If I leave you, if I die-"

"You won't." she replies, quickly.

"People die, Maggie." Hal says; his hardened expression only deepening into one of more anger, more agony and more pain.

And the guilt, it is always there. It will always remain there until Hal learns, and accepts, that what he did while under the aliens control was not his fault. He needs to accept this, and be at peace with it, before he can attempt to shed any of the guilt.

"That's the truth of this world." he states.

"I know that, Hal." Maggie answers. "And I know, you're not…You're not out of the woods, yet…" she murmurs, softly, while still holding his gaze.

Hal falls, quickly, into a silence that he doesn't want to break. He finds himself, in this silence, alone in the darkness as memories, excruciating reminders, of what he has done play before his eyes and he is powerless to stop these memories. He relives every painful and aching moment of Billy's death.

Without having any knowledge of doing so, Hal's body tenses up; his hands clench together, tightly, in to balls in his fists and his jaw tightly clenches together like he is holding in a painful scream or moan of pain.

"Hal?" Maggie repeats, for the seventh time; she leans closer towards him, moving so that she may try to unfold his clenched fists.

She takes his left hand with her right, and his right hand with her left hand, and she begins to attempt to uncurl his fingers and release them from the rounded fists that they have formed. It takes her several tries but eventually, she manages to do it. She opens his hands out, gently smoothing down his open palm with her finger tips; she finds, as she does this, that her fingertips catch traces of fresh blood which now patterns his skin.

"There's something you need to know." he says; he sounds so empty, so drained, and so destroyed as he speaks to her.

He can't allow himself to look in to her eyes, just yet, as he can already imagine the complete and utter disgust, repulsion, betrayal and pain that he will see in those beautiful eyes of hers.

"A truth." he murmurs, still purposefully avoiding her eyes.

She takes his hands in hers slowly, carefully, and as she does this she can't help but believe, for a flickering moment, that Hal attempts to physically pull his hands away from her. But, this moment passes and he gives in, allowing her to hold his hands for this brief, last moment he believes they will spend together without her truly hating him like he will in moments to come.

"Tell me, Hal, and I won't leave." she insists, promising that she won't leave him because she could never do such a thing to him again.

Hal disagrees, because he can see the truth. He says, sadly, "You will but I need you to."

And as he speaks, he takes her hands and holds them in his. "You need to." he says.

She frowns, shaking her head once, as she states, "You're not making any sense, Hal."

Hal admits sadly, painfully, with a dull and defeated voice, "I've taken lives, Maggie."

She pauses, only briefly. She holds his gaze as she answers, "I know."

They spoke about this, in the gazebo, and Hal bringing it up again only causes Maggie further worry, and concern, as she begins to deeply worry that his memory is failing him.

"You remember, when we were in the gazebo, we talked about this?" Maggie asks; she watches him more closely, and with more fear in her eyes.

He answers, shortly, "Yes."

She asks, again, "You remember?"

He draws in a shaky breath, his grip on Maggie's hands tightening ever so slightly. He admits, "There are…moments."

Maggie makes sure that she is holding Hal's gaze, completely, as she says, "I know that you've done things that you haven't wanted to do."

He shakes his head, once, as he answers, "You don't know all of it, Maggie."

Maggie nods, taking in his words. "So, tell me it." she suggests.

The next word that passes Hal's lips is cold, empty, and filled with such pain, such agony, and such darkness.

"Billy." he murmurs.

She doesn't understand Hal, she doesn't understand what it is that he's trying to tell her, this much if obvious by her expression as it fails to shift in to one of repulsion, anger, disgust or hatred.

"No, Hal." Maggie answers, softly, holding his gaze. "It's me." she tells him. "It's Maggie." she whispers. She pauses, inhaling the cool air, before she announces, "I think I'll get Anne."

"No, Maggie. Don't. Don't." Hal says; as he speaks he stands, as Maggie does, and continues to hold on, gently, to her hands.

She doesn't move, she doesn't speak, and instead of leaving for Anne she remains where she stands, only inches away from Hal. She allows Hal to hold on to her hands, still, because he appears to be frightened, so pained, and she fears what would happen if she were to pull away.

He draws in sharps breath, his body shuddering, his hands shaking, and as all of this is occurring almost without his recognition, he somehow manages to hold Maggie's gaze. His expression hardens; his grip on Maggie's hands unintentionally tightens as he speaks.

"I killed him." he admits; his eyes hollows, his voice empty.

She watches Hal, fearful that in this moment she truly believes she has lost her Hal because this person, standing before her, is not Hal Mason.

She shakes her head, once, still not understanding who it is that Hal is talking about.

He pauses, drawing in a shuddering, painful breath of air as he somehow manages to hold in the choking sob which he feels rising in his throat. His voice is so dark, low, and weak as he painfully admits, "I killed Billy."

* * *

**A/N: Firstly, I apologise for the lateness of this update. Secondly, I apologise for the quality/standard of this update. It isn't the best but I wanted to get something up, so I'm sorry. I also apologise in advance for any spelling or grammatical errors. I read through it but it's late, I'm tired, and I'm hoping that there aren't any.**

**Thank you to every single person who reads my story. You'll never know how truly thankful and appreciative I am. :) You're all just so amazing and I'll never be able to thank you enough.**

**Also, Yes (As you will learn) Isaac's past love interest was a man meaning he is interested in men. ****(And no, before anyone asks - Isaac does not like Ben in that way. He only loves one person and will only love that person and I've only added this past love interest to add depth to his character and to deepen his and Maggie's friendship.) I strongly support Gay rights. I'm a strong believer in love not being restricted to gender. If you don't agree with me, I don't care. If you don't like that that I made his past love male, I don't care. Don't read my story if you're not happy with it - Sure, I'd certainly be sad to lose a reader BUT I'm not going to change my story, or my views, or not involve this certain story-line because certain people don't support it or agree with it. I hope that no one has a problem with this story-line.**

**For those of you who do like it, I'm happy that you do and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**This chapter is a little slow but I'll just say (hint hint) that every conversation, every action, that happened in this chapter is connected to future chapters and it is building up to the next, and the next, and so on.**

**Enjoy.**

**& Thanks for reading, and for waiting for the update.**

**X**


	63. In my heart there is a hole

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

Maggie's expression quickly shifts and as it does she is unable to conceal every emotion, as she'd wished to. The pain that she feels consumes her, and this pain is clear for Hal to see, and this pain which she so dreads controls her just as it controls him and they're both powerless to it.

She stutters, muttering incoherent jumbles of words that Hal doesn't quite hear but doesn't dare ask her to repeat. She pauses, falling silent, and when she fails to speak again he does.

"I killed him." Hal repeats; the darkness which he feels deep inside of him echoes through each word that passes his lips.

"With my own hands." he says, reliving each excruciating moment and memory. "I see it." he admits, speaking quickly.

"I see it all when I close my eyes and when they're open, all I see is blood." he murmurs; he sounds pained, tormented, tortured and lost.

As he finishes speaking, he withdraws his hands from Maggie's as he doesn't want to allow her to become tainted by the poison that soaks him and the blood that drowns him.

Maggie, who is unable to remain as composed as she'd wanted to, begins to say, "Why? Why did you….What do-"

Hal cuts Maggie off, with a cold and frighteningly serious and dark voice. "I deserve to die." he states.

"No." Maggie answers, firmly.

She steps towards Hal, and reaches out for him, but he quickly steps away so that he may avoid her touch before she'd even rested a finger on his shoulder.

He is undeserving of her, unworthy of his family, and he is carrying a guilt that he can't shed. No one can convince him that this guilt, which he feels always, is not rightfully his.

Hal takes another step away from Maggie, pulling away both physically and emotionally from her. She hates this. She hates what they have done to him, and she hates all of the pain which they have forced upon him, and she hates this distance which creeps up between them.

After everything, that they have been through – after every word he spoke, while controlled, that was cruel and painful, she managed to stay by his side and now, he wants to push her away. He wants to push her away because he believes she should of left, he believes she still can leave, and he wants to give her a chance to do so, a chance at a better life.

"I deserve to pay for what I've done, for the lives I've taken." he states, sounding so sure that he is deserving of whatever punishment that will be bestowed upon him for his crimes.

"No." she answers, adamantly.

Maggie doesn't believe he should have to pay for these acts which he had no control of, whatsoever. He is still innocent, he is still good, he is still Hal Mason – even if he chooses not to believe these things, right now, Maggie knows that they are true and in time he will see the truth.

"I did it!" Hal exclaims; his anger, that they are purposefully ignorant to what he has become because of the illusion and delusion of feelings they have for him, rises and breaks free as he can't contain it.

"I didn't have any control, but it was still me!" Hal yells, loudly, while still holding her gaze. "When I close my eyes, I see myself doing those things." he admits, sounding so sickened by the very thought of what he sees when he closes his eyes, and he sees terrible things.

"You didn't know what you were doing, Hal." Maggie answers; her voice becomes shaky, and soft, and her hardened expression threatens to crumble.

She won't give up on him, she can't give up on Hal, and she won't allow him to believe that he is guilty of this when he is not. He had no choice, no control, and so he shouldn't be carrying this dark, heavy guilt because of the aliens and what they did to him.

"You had no control, Hal. You had no choice." she says.

"That doesn't matter, Maggie." he snaps, back, quickly. "It doesn't change anything, it doesn't make me good!" he exclaims; his voice rises, becoming loud, shaky and so empty.

Hal stands before Maggie as a shadow of his former self. As she looks at him, Maggie doesn't see _her_ Hal standing before her. Instead, she sees something that she had been forbidding herself from truly seeing, and accepting – she sees a man drained of hope, life, and of anything remotely close to a feeling.

She sees a broken soldier, an empty soul, and she sees a shattered heart. An empty person who believes they have nothing good left. She allows her fears to seep in, through the cracks, for a flickering second. The fears nearly consume her entirely because Hal consumes her completely. These powerful fears, which she feels always, are that he will never heal, properly, and that he will never come back to her.

Before, she hadn't allowed herself to consider, even for the briefest second, that he might not heal but now she cannot deny it. She can't pretend that he's healing when he isn't. She can't pretend that Hal has returned home, to them, because he hasn't. He's still gone, he's missing, and he might never return to them.

"And, it doesn't stop you, Ben or my Dad from seeing what I did. It doesn't stop you from seeing what I am!" he says; as he speaks he steps towards her, his face becoming more unreadable with every passing second and the pain becoming deeper in his eyes.

Hal sounds exhausted, defeated and angry as he states, "You can lie about how it wasn't me, about how you don't blame me and no one blames me and I'm going to get better but I see the guilt. I see it. I feel it and I know it, Maggie. You can't lie to me. Don't lie to me…You can't do that to me."

She says, softly, "I'm not lying, Hal."

"You can't be like they are!" Hal exclaims, pointing to the door. "You can't lie to me like they do. You can't do what they're doing to me!" he yells, accusingly.

"I'm not doing anything, Hal." she answers.

But it's like he doesn't hear her, because he doesn't acknowledge her words.

"You can't do that to me, Maggie." he pleads.

He pleads for her to be honest with him, to not lie to him, because he trusts her to never lie to him.

"I'm not-" she begins.

"Look me in the eyes," he says, softly. "And tell me you aren't scared of me, of what I did to you, and tell me you don't relieve what I did to you – what I did to all of you." Hal says.

He pauses, only briefly. "You can't." he states; there are no traces of surprise of shock in his voice because he was already aware that she couldn't do such a thing, she wouldn't lie to him.

Hal draws in a long breath, which causes his body to shudder, closing his eyes as he does. When he looks upon Maggie again, he states, "You need to leave."

"Hal…." she answers; firmly, lovingly, but with a fear in her eyes.

"I don't know…." he begins, drawing out those three words. "What you're hanging on to." he says; his tone is much harsher, angrier, and he wears a sickened expression on his face.

Hal is sickened by the very thought that Maggie has stayed by his side, throughout all of this, because he isn't deserving of that, or of her, and she deserves better.

"There's nothing here." he lies.

He lies because he has to, because she needs to leave. He needs her to leave so she'll let him go, and then he will never hurt her again.

"There's nothing left to hang on to." he declares.

With a colder, lower voice and a hardened expression still resting on his worn features, he says, "I don't deserve you."

"You're not doing this again, Hal." she states, sounding so sure that she won't let him push her away again and she is sure.

"Tell me something, Maggie…." he says, taking a clearly hesitant step towards her. "I don't….since…Tell me, you love me?" he asks; the vulnerability that consumes him becomes clear for her to see, and she feels this vulnerability, and the fear that he feels becomes clearer in his eyes.

"Hal…." she murmurs, softly, and insecurely. She begins, softly, "Don't do-"

"Tell me you love me?" he repeats, tilting his head to the side. "Tell me, honestly, that I'm not a monster." he states; the darkness creeps back, inside of him, not that it was ever truly gone because he'll never be rid of it.

Somehow, he holds her gaze with his hollow and unfamiliar eyes.

"Reassure me that I'm not a killer." he says, bitterly, as he continues to watch her.

Hal's voice rises, the veins on his neck begin to pulsate madly, as he says, "Reassure me that I didn't almost choke my own brother to death! Reassure me that I didn't hurt anyone!"

Hal shakes his head, angrily, as he lifts his hands up to his head. With a great deal of force, and anger, he runs his hands up his forehead and through his hair until his shaking hands reach the back of his neck. He grips the skin at the back of his neck, tightly, until he reaches for the bandage on his forehead.

He draws in a loud breath of air, almost gasping, as he tears away the bandage from his forehead. He tosses it to the side, a look of disbelief on his face – a disbelief that anyone should ever care for him after all that he has done.

"Tell me I've done no wrong." he says, almost pleading with her to tell him this so he might believe it for a flickering second. "Tell me…." he begins; his voice dry and low as he speaks. "That my family doesn't look at me with repulsion in their eyes."

But, even if Maggie were to tell him any of those things he wouldn't believe them because he couldn't allow himself to do such a thing.

"Tell me I still have you….Why don't you tell me I'm still me? Go on, Maggie. Why won't you tell me?" he asks, lowering his hands down to rest by his sides.

He watches her closely, allowing the silence to scream at them, for a moment and only for the briefest moment because he hates it, he hates the silence, and he hates forcing her to fall in to the silence with him.

"Or better yet….Tell me I have a family?" he asks; the vulnerability, the pain, and the fear slip through the cracks in his voice.

He stands stiffer, now, as he states, with such a troubled expression resting on his face, "You can't. You can't say those words – you can't say a word that wouldn't be a lie."

Somehow, Maggie speaks.

Her voice is much louder than she'd expected it to be, and more confident than she'd predicted it would be, as she states, "You're not doing this, Hal."

"Not doing what, Maggie?" he asks.

He waits for no response.

"I'm not doing what's right?" he asks. "I am, only you can't see it. And _you_…You need to leave." he says.

Those four words, 'you need to leave', evoke a reaction in Maggie that she can't, despite how badly she wanted to, control.

She is immediately reminded of how Hal treated her, while he was controlled, and these painful reminders of how cruel he was only add to her pain.

She takes a step away from Hal, shaking her head quickly; she turns away and lifts her hands up towards her lips. She presses her left hand, to her bottom lip, and she remains this way for a moment.

He believes she might leave. He fears that she will leave but he believes she deserves much better. He doesn't deserve her, he never has, and this is something he has always known.

Maggie turns to face Hal, wearing a much darker and harder expression on her face. Her eyes are empty, and cold, and for a moment she says nothing.

"I'm not going anywhere, Hal." she says, finally.

Hal shakes his head because he needs her to leave so he won't ever hurt her again. He can't live with the knowledge of what he's done to her in the past and he couldn't live with himself if he hurt her again.

"Why won't you understand that I don't want you here?" he asks. "It's not the same, it can't be the same." he states, angrily.

Maggie sees flashes, now, before her eyes; flashes of Charleston and of how Hal pushed her away, similar to how he is doing it now. He pushed her away then because he claimed that he didn't feel anything for her anymore and that there was nothing there, between them.

There is still something there, between them, Maggie feels it and she knows that Hal feels it too. He's scared, and he's struggling, and so his defense is to push away anyone and everyone who reminds him of the good inside his heart.

And there is still so much good inside of his heart, inside of him, even if he doesn't want to believe that right now.

"You're not pulling this crap again, Hal." she says, fiercely. "It won't work." she states.

"You need to realize the truth, Maggie – and the truth is that you don't need me, you only think that you do." he says; effortlessly, lifelessly, and emptily.

"You're wrong," Maggie counters. "I need you, okay?" she says. "Your family needs you too." she tells him.

"My family needs me?" he scoffs, disbelievingly. "They don't need me, no one does." he says; he sound so sure, and so sad, that no one needs him.

"Get out." he says, loudly.

When Maggie does not move from where she stands, in front of him, and when she does not leave as she should because it's what best for her, he sighs.

"Get out." he repeats. "You need to-"

Just as Hal is about to finish speaking, to tell Maggie that she needs to leave because she deserves someone much better than him, Anne enters the room.

She steps through the door to his room without knocking and as she enters, she glances up to find Maggie and Hal in what appears to be, by how they're standing and what the expressions on their faces are like, a somewhat heated argument.

"I'm sorry, to interrupt. I was just checking in." Anne says, quickly.

She steps through the door, closing it behind her, and moves towards the two of them who remain standing in an uncertain and tense silence.

She glances to Hal, casting a quick look over him. "How are you doing, Hal?" she asks.

Hal turns towards Anne, hesitantly. He states, "She needs to get out."

A frown flickers on Anne's features as she asks, "I'm sorry?"

Maggie shakes her head. "You just need to calm down, Hal." she says.

Hal takes a step away, from Maggie and Anne, as he suddenly becomes aware of how closed he allowed himself come to tainting them with his darkness, his poison and his blood.

"You both need to." he says, loudly.

Anne sighs, softly. She crosses her arms over her stomach, glancing briefly towards Maggie.

"Hal, I don't understand." Anne admits.

Hal ignores her words because she couldn't possibly understand.

"I want to be alone, Anne." he says, simply.

And it is such a simple thing – wanting to be alone. He needs it, he wants it, and he deserves to be lonely.

"Okay." Anne answers, sympathetically.

She pauses, sighing again, before she states, "I just need to check your wounds, Hal, then I'll go."

"You think I care about my wounds?" he asks; the absurdity, that he would care about his own wounds, becomes clear in his voice. "I don't care." he says, honestly.

Hal doesn't care about his wounds, or his body, or his mind. He doesn't' care about himself and so he doesn't see why anyone else should care. He doesn't understand why they still, after everything he has done and after they have witnessed the monster he has become, care about him.

Anne begins, softly, "Hal, it's perfectly normal…."

"What about this is perfectly normal?" Hal asks, cutting over Anne with a much louder voice.

Hal hesitates, as he draws in another breath of air, before he says, with his hands raised to his head, "I had bugs in my head! Nothing about that is _normal_, nothing is normal and nothing is 'perfectly' normal!"

He sounds frightened, angered, and like he is in a great deal of pain as he speaks. He drops his hands to his side and begins to pace, taking only two or three steps before he turns back to face them.

Anne moves closer towards a clearly reluctant Hal, whose hands she'd noted had been shaking since she'd entered the room.

Anne watches Hal sadly, closely, and with a great deal of care and sympathy.

"Hal, I understand." she assures him, so kindly

"You don' understand anything, Anne." he spits back, clearly angered by the very idea that she believes she understands what he's going through. "You don't know what it's like to be-to be in my head." he says.

Hal pauses, falling silent, as he raises his right hand towards his forehead. He presses his fingers against his temple, in to his head, as he says, "You don't know what it's like. You have no idea."

And the words, so simple, are spoken so coldly and so surely that no one will ever understand.

Anne nods, in agreement with Hal. She takes another, smaller, step towards Hal.

"So, talk to me, Hal." she says; almost pleading for him to speak to her or anyone about this. "Help me to understand." she says kindly, calmly, and in a gentle way that reminds Hal of his mother.

Hal hates this feeling. He hates the guilt that arises at the mere thought that Anne may possess a quality, a motherly quality, which reminds him of his mother.

It causes the bile to rise up, in the back of his throat, and for a second he believes he might be sick as the pain, of how much he misses her, nearly consumes him entirely. Despite how he longs for the grief and the darkness to take him, and be done with him, it doesn't.

"I need…I need you both to leave." he says, somehow controlling his anger in this moment.

But Hal knows that it won't be long until he is unable to control such large amounts of anger, pain, confusion and suffering – and he has been keeping these feelings inside, they've been building up since he lost his mother and since the aliens took Ben away from him.

Maggie speaks, finally. She takes a small, almost cautious, step towards Hal.

"I'm not leaving." Maggie announces.

Hal shakes his head, once. "Then I'll leave." he replies.

Hal moves to take a step, but Maggie moves and she's quicker than he is. As she comes to stand before him, she doesn't budge. She holds his unwavering, unfaltering, and empty gaze.

"You're not doing this." she informs him.

"Why?" he asks, quickly. "I can walk." Hal says.

Maggie shakes her head, once. "Barely." she replies.

"It's good enough." Hal counters.

"Hal, you're not strong enough." Anne says, softly and with such a caring voice. "You're not strong enough right now but in time, you will be." she adds.

"You don't know if I'm strong enough." Hal says, sharply.

"No," Anne replies. She pauses, sighing softly, before she says, "But as your doctor I know you're not physically or mentally well."

"I'm not mentally well?" he asks. "Well, bugs in your head, in your brain, might just do that to you. They might just make you 'mentally unwell' - but you, you don't know what it's like. None of you know what it's like."

"Explain it to us, then, Hal." Anne insists.

Hal backs away from Anne, as she takes a step towards him. He feels enclosed, trapped, like he has nowhere to go and no air left to breathe.

Maggie and Anne disappear from Hal's vision as the room flickers like a static television, right before his eyes. They're gone in seconds and there's nothing he can do to bring them back.

His mind, as it is already aware of everything that haunts and frightens Hal and causes him excruciating pain, cruelly shows him a face that he never wants to see again.

Karen appears, taking the place where Maggie once stood, right before his eyes and it's like she is really there, standing before him. She stands still, pale, and covered in blood – Hal's blood. And she is exactly as he remembers her being, after he was harnessed; she's smiling like she's satisfied with the amount of his tainted blood that has been shed. She's smiling like she's one of them because she is one of them.

A flash of light flickers in front of his eyes, pulling his eyes towards it, and he knows this light immediately. He fears this light. It haunts him always and he knows he will never lose this fear for as long as he lives.

Hal backs away from the light, quickly, and flinches as it shines upon him because he believes that the light is coming from a mech.

"Hal." Anne repeats.

Her voice echoes in to his thoughts and in seconds he is pulled away from Karen, and the blood and the white lights of the mech, to find he's in his room. The only thing that has changed is the light, which has been lit. The light, as it was turned on, frightened Hal as he'd believed it belonged to a mech.

Hal's chest is heaving heavily. His face is empty. His eyes are hollow and his skin is paler. He turns away from them and reaches for the armchair, which Maggie and Tom had spent many nights on.

"I'll explain it to you then, Anne." he says; he sounds rushed, and panicked, as he speaks so very quickly.

His chest continues to heave; he draws in long, aching, sharp breaths of air as he angrily tosses the armchair across the room.

It collides, loudly, with the wall and breaks; falling on the ground in to a broken heap.

"I'm sick of being in this room." he states, reaching for another chair as he speaks.

Instead of throwing this char in to the wall, he tosses it carelessly to the side and out of his way.

"I'm sick of being treated like this – like I'm worthy, good…Like I'm still me." he admits.

"You are worthy, Hal, and you're still good." Anne assures him.

"And I'm tired of hearing that, Anne." he admits, with a much lower tone. "I don't want to hear that ever again." he murmurs, lowly.

"Hal, you need to calm down, okay?" Anne says, soothingly.

"You don't understand at all. No one does." he replies, quickly, and again he sounds so sure, so certain, that no one else could possibly understand. "Get out!" he yells; his tone much louder but at the same time much emptier.

He glances away from them, as he says, "Just go."

Anne pauses, before she says, "Hal, I'm going to give you-"

"Give me what, Anne?" he asks, unintentionally cutting over her. "A sedative?" he asks.

Hal shakes his head quickly, repeatedly, before he says, "No, you're not. You come near me with one and I'm gone – I'll go. I'm not being put under a sedative and I'm not getting back in that bed. I can't."

"You're going through a lot, Hal." Anne says; her voice remains so soft, so caring, still. "You need to rest, to recover, and talk about it all. You've been through a great deal of emotional and physical trauma, Hal. It's catching up to you and it's okay that you're struggling. We're all here for you, to help you. Maggie's never left your side, neither has your father – we won't let you down, Hal."

"I want to be left down." Hal admits. "I want to be alone." he murmurs, dejectedly.

"Yeah?" Maggie asks, still watching him closely. "Well, we all want a lot of things that we don't get. And that? It's not happening, you don't have a say." she says, with such an impassive voice.

Hal shakes his head. "You both need to leave." he says, loudly.

When neither of them take a step, he yells, "Go!"

Tom, who has just opened the door to Hal's room, calls out, worriedly, "Hal?"

The beginnings of a frown rest on Tom's tired face as he casts his eyes over those in the room. Slowly, his eyes lead him towards the broken chairs. Tom steps towards Hal, closing the door behind him. His expression only deepens with worry as he moves towards his son.

"Hal, what's going on?" Tom asks.

Tom pauses, briefly, to draw in a slow and shaky breath.

"Has something happened?" he asks, the fear echoing in his voice.

"They need to leave, Dad." Hal says, quickly. "And you…You need to leave, too. We just-You all…You don't…." he says; he speaks quickly, rushed, and mumbles occasionally.

"Whoa," Tom says. "Slow down." he says; as he speaks he reaches out to Hal and attempts to place his hands down gently on to his son's shoulders.

Hal pulls his shoulders back, taking a step back, immediately. He recoils from his father's touch before he was able to set his hands upon his shoulders. He isn't deserving of such a good man, as his father. He isn't deserving of his family, or what few friends he has left. Hal doesn't believe he is deserving of anyone.

"Don't." Hal says, warily, with such empty eyes.

The frown on Tom's face deepens greatly. "Don't what, Hal?" he asks.

"Don't, just…." Hal begins.

Hal hesitates, sighing softly. He takes another step back, away from the three of them, careful to keep his eyes on the ground.

"I need you all to leave." he says, simply.

Tom nods once. "Okay, we'll leave," he agrees. "Once we get you calmed down." he adds.

"Get me calmed down?" Hal asks.

He shakes his head, quickly, finally meeting his father's gaze.

"I'm not going to calm down, Dad. Nothing- this isn't going to calm down." Hal says, _almost_ shouting.

Tom steps forward, slowly, despite that he had noticed Hal had purposefully backed away from him. He watches his son carefully, finding that as he casts his eyes over him he can see fresh cuts along his forehead.

"You just need to breathe, Hal." Tom says, soothingly, calmly, and with such a loving tone.

"You need to leave, Dad." Hal counters.

Tom shakes his head, once, before he says, "You don't mean that, Hal."

Hal sighs, loudly, almost in frustration. He runs his hands over his forehead, and through his hair, down to his neck again. As he does this, he tears at the fresh cuts on his head causing the skin to break and the wounds to re-open.

"You don't know what it's like." Hal replies.

Despite his hardest attempts to prevent it from doing so, the fear which Hal feels momentarily slips in as he speaks those few, simple words about his father not knowing what it's like.

"You're right, I don't know." Tom agrees.

A small, hopeful smile spreads on to Tom's face. He says, softly, "But I know that you're my son and you're a fighter. You can make it through this, you always do."

"No, you're wrong." Hal counters; there is no moment of hesitation, no smile on his face and no emotion in his eyes or on his face.

If he did notice the tiny droplets of blood, trickling down his forehead and on to his face from the re-open cuts across his forehead, Hal doesn't let on. He continues on like the blood isn't there, like he isn't bleeding.

"I'm not a fighter, not anymore. You know what I really am, Dad, don't you? And so does Ben and Maggie and it's only a matter of time before everyone else finds out." he says; he mumbles a few words, occasionally, but otherwise speaks quickly.

"Enough, Hal…" Tom says, softly; his voice is louder, as he speaks, but it is not angrier.

Tom steps towards Hal, wanting to wipe the blood off of his son's forehead, but just as he had both expected and feared, Hal backs away from him.

And Tom feels like they were so close, not so long ago. Hal hadn't flinched from his touch, he hadn't recoiled from any form of physical contact, and now Hal was flinching at something so simple as a step forward.

"It'll never be enough!" Hal exclaims.

He sounds so sure, and so sad, that it will never be enough. He has nothing left to give. He's given everything, fought with everything, loved with everything and it still hasn't been enough.

"I have nothing left to give to this world – I just give, and give, and I try and it's not hard enough. I fight with everything but there's nothing left. There's not enough…" Hal says.

"You have us, Hal, and we're not going anywhere." Tom promises.

Tom promises his son that they won't go anywhere, that they won't leave him, and that they will always have him because Tom is so sure of this.

But still, despite Tom's attempt at reassurance and his promises that Hal wants to believe, Hal won't believe the words because he doesn't want these words to be true.

Hal doesn't want to inflict any more pain on those he cares about, on those he loves, and he knows that it is only a matter of time before he hurts someone again.

Hal shakes his head.

"Get out." he says, loudly. "Just….Just go." Hal says.

With such a gentle tone, Tom assures him, "Hal, it's okay. It's all going to be okay."

In the beginning, Hal sees flashes before his eyes; these flashes are of Karen, and of Billy, and of the mechs and he can't stop these flickers of the past as they play before his eyes.

He tries to back away from them, he tries to fight them, but he can't stop them. The lights seep into his eyes and burn in to his skull.

He finds himself, in moments, lost in these thoughts and he doesn't want to be lost in them. He detests these thoughts, these repulsive memories of the darkest things he has done – and he has done so many dark things.

He remains in his memories, which don't feel like memories to him but instead they feel like a haunting reality, and as he remains lost he finds Karen and he wishes he hadn't.

She steps towards him and she's covered in blood but he knows it's not just his blood – it's his father's blood, Ben's blood, and Maggie's blood. As he sees her, he tries to stop her. His eyes set down upon the stick in her, the device that she used to inflict such pain on them at the warehouse, and the flashes of the warehouse play brightly and quickly and in moments those memories are gone but Karen remains.

She lunges forward, at Hal, with the device firmly in her hand. The device, the stick, changes right before Hal's eyes; it shifts in to a silver hook, the knife, that he painfully remembers each time he sets his eyes upon a piece of silverware or even the color silver.

The flash of silver stuns him. He tries to back away from it but Karen slams him down, violently, on to the ground and it feels like his back is broken from the impact. She leans over him, the silver gleaming with the crimson sheen of blood.

He screams at her, shouting for her to get off him, and he struggles underneath her. Somehow, she is stronger than him.

She presses the hook down, in to his throat, and slices it; she tears at his skin, ripping open the flesh, causing blood to pour out of his throat and he's helpless. He can't stop the blood; it flows out so fast, and so quickly, that he knows he is going to die.

He tries to fight her, still, because he has to save his father from getting on the ship, he has to save Ben from being taken, he has to save his mother from being killed and he has to save Maggie from Karen.

He knocks Karen backwards with what little strength he has left, using the back of his fist to do so. She stumbles down on to the ground, staring at him with hollow eyes.

The blaring light, of the mech, falters before fading away. The gash on his neck, which never existed, ceases to bleed and the blood he'd imagined on his hands is gone. He finds himself returned to his reality, which is much darker than his memories.

Hal finds, when his eyes finally open, that he is half lying on the ground, on his back. He doesn't find Karen across from him – instead, he finds his bloodied father.

Tom wears a tired, worried expression on his features and there is a deeper, stronger pain in his eyes as he watches Hal.

Hal's eyes flicker towards his father's bloodied nose, which he must of hit – but Hal hadn't been aware, or wake, when his father had pushed him to the ground.

For a moment, Hal had blacked out and it had been like he was sleeping. He continues to stare at his father, for a moment, as he attempts to piece together what just occurred.

Hal doesn't recall the conversation prior to this, or what led to this. The last moment that he remembers is his father assuring him it would all be okay.

But it wasn't okay, not now, and Hal has no idea how he came to be lying on the floor with his bloodied father resting across from him.

Hal doesn't know if Maggie and Anne are still in the room; he doesn't look up for them, he can't. He keeps his eyes firmly set on to his father.

Hal finds that the source of the blood, on his father's face, is a result of where he hit him. And Hal knows, from the look on his father's face, that he must have hit him in the nose.

Hal's eyes move downwards, following his father's gaze, towards his own hand. He finds that his open palm is traced with a few droplets of blood.

Hal turns his shaking hand over, taking in each and every detail of it as though it is something completely unknown to him, he finds on the back of his hand something he has always dreaded that he would see; he sees crimson, his father's blood, staining his own hands and Hal knows in this moment that he will lead to the undoing of all of those he loves so greatly and eventually he will be the cause of his own undoing.

Tom's injury is minor, he knows this; Hal, who had quickly fallen in to a somewhat dazed state, had become panicked and Tom had tried to calm him. Hal had accidentally knocked him to the ground, hitting him in the nose, and Tom knows in his heart that such a thing was entirely accidental as his son's would never do such a thing purposefully.

Tom doesn't back away from Hal. He moves forward, so that he's kneeling in front of Hal, and as he does this he notes that Hal's expression shifts in to one of such disgust, horror and fear.

"You once asked me to keep an eye on you." Hal states; his voice remains barely above a whisper as he speaks.

"Hal…." Tom says, softly.

Hal lifts his eyes to meet his father's gaze.

"We don't know if it's gone, Dad, the bug…" Hal says.

Tom shakes his head, once, and presses his hand down on to Hal's knee. At first, Hal jerks his knee back, almost involuntarily, at the touch. Then, he moves so that his father cannot reach him.

"We caught it, Hal." Tom assures him. "And we destroyed it, it's gone." he says; as he speaks he moves, a little closer, towards Hal because he hates this distance between them.

"If I do anything…." Hal begins, sadly.

"Hal, don't." Tom says, quickly and loudly.

"If I do anything that would endanger the lives of our people…." Hal says. "I'm not asking, Dad." he murmurs.

And these words are so familiar to Tom, to what he said to Hal months earlier.

"I won't do that." Tom states. "You're my son, I won't do that. Never." Tom says.

"I don't want to hurt anyone else, Dad." Hal admits, in a moment of calm but dark honesty. "I'm scared that I will and I don't want to do." he says.

"You won't." Tom assures him, but he can't be entirely sure.

"If it's there…" Hal begins. "If the bug is still in there." he mutters.

Tom shakes his head, quickly. "It's not." he states.

His voice is so shaky, so fearful, as he says, "I just blacked out, Dad. I wasn't there. I can't be around Matt, and Ben, and you - I shouldn't be around anyone, I might hurt them. You have to stop me, by whatever means necessary."

"You won't hurt me, Hal, or Ben – or anyone." Tom replies, quickly, and he sounds so sure and so optimistic that Hal won't hurt anyone again.

Tom is so certain, so sure, of this because at this present moment the future holds a certain hope that the current moment doesn't.

"And Matt?" Hal asks; the fear creeps back in, slipping back in to his voice and his eyes.

Tom glances back, briefly, at Anne and as he meets her gaze the two share a brief exchange of understanding.

"Matt's in Charleston, Hal." Tom says; he is carefully to speak slowly and properly enunciate each word.

Hal shakes his head, once, and as he does he comes to the realization that his hand is still gripping at the non-existent, the imaginary, gash across his throat. He drops both hands to the ground, careful to keep them flat so he does not tear at his own skin again and draw more blood because enough blood has been shed.

"What are-What-Why?" Hal replies; he appears dazed, worried, as he speaks. "Why is Matt in Charleston?" Hal asks.

"Hal….." Tom whispers; softly, gently. "Your memory….." he begins.

"It's fine." Hal answers, quickly.

"It's not." Tom admits, sadly, to both himself and to Hal.

Hal's memory isn't fine. Hal isn't fine. Nothing about his son, in this moment, is in anywhere near fine. He is broken, he is defeated, he is weak and his mind and memory are both failing him and he is struggling to deal with all that he has suffered. He isn't the strong solider that he once was, not right now anyway; he's breaking further, with the second, and he won't let anyone help him.

"You're not in my mind… So you don't know what it's like." Hal states, loudly. "You don't know what I know." he murmurs.

Tom, softly, begins, "I'm trying to-"

"I know where he is, Dad. I know Matt's in Charleston." Hal says.

Moments earlier, Hal was confused, dazed, about the idea of Matt not being near him and now he speaks of knowing that Matt is in Charleston.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Hal asks; his voice is much softer, but calmer, and much more reasonable than it was only seconds earlier.

"Tell you what, Hal?" Tom asks, carefully.

Hal pauses before he answers, "That Matt's with Mom."

A silence, which is dark and daunting, escapes in to the room and it is uncontrollable, it cannot be contained or stopped once it enters.

"Hal….." Tom whispers.

And his voice is barely that of a whisper; he is tired, weak, and Hal's delusions of his mother being alive, in Charleston with Matt, place a greater grief on Tom's heavy heart.

"Your mother…." Tom begins.

"Is in Charleston… With Matt..." Hal says, finishing the second half of Tom's sentence.

Tom simply shakes his head, once, as he draws in a shaky and unstable breath of air which does little to soothe his insides.

"No." Tom says.

It is such a simple word that manages to convey so much.

The confusion disappears from Hal's features. He remembers, now, that she isn't here with them anymore. His mother is dead, she's gone, and she isn't in Charleston with Matt. It was a delusion in his head, in his mind, and he had so wanted it to be true but he doesn't understand why he would believe such a thing when he knows, in his heart, she is gone.

"You need to….Stop me." Hal says. "Through whatever means necessary….I mean-I can't…I don't know who I am anymore, Dad. I can't distinguish between my memory, _its _memory, and what's a lie – I don't know what's missing and I don't know what isn't real and what is..." he says. "Through whatever means…." Hal repeats.

Tom won't agree to this. There is no way that he will ever agree to this, or promise Hal this. He will fight for his son's, and with his son's, and he will give his life for his son's but he will not let them lose their lives.

"I won't promise you that, Hal." Tom answers.

"Okay." Maggie answers; she sounds so cold, so tired, as she speaks.

Tom turns back, so quickly, so that he may look upon Maggie.

"What?!" Tom asks.

"If he endangers…." she murmurs, her eyes flickering towards Hal's as she speaks. "If the bug isn't gone..." she says; she sounds, if possible, colder and darker than she did seconds earlier.

"Maggie….." Tom begins.

She answers, simply, "If it's what Hal wants, if it's what has to be done…."

But as Maggie glances back, towards him, Tom knows that she is lying to Hal. He can see what Hal doesn't; Tom sees in her eyes that she would never do such a thing to Hal and he knows she would never allow someone else to.

Maggie is only assuring Hal of this, that she would stop him, so he might calm down so that he might rest.

If they were ever to find themselves in a situation such as the one that Hal is dreading will occur, Maggie will leave _with_ Hal and she will take him, with her, to the mountains and they'll be safe there.

* * *

The night is cold, icy cold, as Hal enters it. He draws in an, almost gasping, breath of air as the chills hit his body.

He pulls his jacket over the front of his chest, in an attempt to keep some of the warmth on the inside but eventually the cold, just like the darkness, gets to _everything_, eats through _everything_, and it's only moments before Hal finds himself shivering, heavily.

When he'd exited the library from one of the side doors, he hadn't known where he would go. Even now, as he walked, he wasn't sure where he was walking to. He finds himself moving towards the edge of the woods and he doesn't hesitate to enter them.

Hal wanted to be alone, he needed to be alone. He was as deserving of the loneliness as he was of the pain that consumed him. And this pain didn't threaten to consume him – he was already swallowed by it entirely and there was no escaping it.

He limped towards the woods, unsteady on both of his legs. The coldness of the night only caused him greater pain. It was like constant surges of the cold air crept in through the cracks, through each wound in his body, and soaked inside of him. He felt numb. His back ached, constantly, and he felt no relief. The medication that Anne had put him on hadn't worked as well as he needed it to. The pain he felt in his back was as bad as when he woke, and it was unbearable then.

His knee aches, still, and he finds that despite his attempts at working out he isn't stronger. In all honesty, he's probably weaker than he was before he forced his body to do push-ups. His knee jolts, as he moves it, and it jerks and threatens to stop moving all together.

He pauses, coming to a stop, as he almost regrets stepping outside. He feels exhausted, drained, and he knows he should sleep and he knows that he needs to sleep but he can't sleep because that's when the darkness claims him. He can't sleep because there he is reminded of all of the blood, of everything, and he already endures these painful reminders in his waking moments.

Hal sighs, loudly, as he closes his eyes slowly. He clenches his jaw together, tightly, as another surge of pain hits his back. As he considers turning back, towards the library, he hears a rustling of the leaves behind him.

His heart begins to pound heavily in his chest, threatening to explode out of his chest, in seconds. His palms begin to sweat. He opens his eyes but he finds his vision becomes blurry with flashes of the woods, in which he almost killed Ben and then the woods in which he killed Billy.

Droplets of sweat trickle down his forehead, blurring his eyes; but he doesn't believe that they are sweat. In this moment, he believes that they are trickles of blood, Billy's blood, running down his face and into his eyes.

He wipes, madly, at his forehead in an attempt to wipe away the blood but it doesn't go away, it doesn't stop.

Hal can't breathe. His lungs have closed, his heart has almost stopped, and he is so unstable, so dizzy. He wants to stay calm; he has a desire to stop Karen before she gets to him, before she gets to his family. Hal knows that she is here because he can hear footsteps that he truly believes belong to her.

He spins around, finding a shadow without a face standing before him. He reaches out, grabbing the shadow; his fingers set down across its neck and then Billy's face appears and he finds himself choking Billy again. He drops his hands, abruptly, from the shadow and steps away.

He wants to stop. He wants the shadow to go away, he wants all of this to go away, but it doesn't. Hal is knocked to the ground harshly, unexpectedly; his lip stings, he tastes the blood pooling in his mouth. He tries to fight it, to fight what he believes to be Karen, but he finds himself weak and frozen and all that he can do as he is kicked, and beaten, is close his eyes and pray for the darkness to take him and be done with him.

* * *

**A/N: Hi there!  
Firstly, I apologise for the lateness in updates. I know, it's a little late and I'll try to update sooner. Secondly, I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes. I've checked over but I've surely missed some.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	64. A warning to the people

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

Maggie finds an emptiness lit up with gold.

A fear sinks inside her chest and in to bones as she casts her eyes over Hal's empty bedroom, lit up by the early morning sunlight.

In this moment she believes he has left her again. She feels an overpowering emptiness, a shadowing darkness, at the thought of Hal leaving her, alone, again.

She closes the door to his room, stepping away from it quickly, and she moves outside. She keeps her head down, her eyes set forward, until she steps out through the front doors.

She looks over the vehicles, counting them silently in her head, and as she does she counts the correct number; he hasn't left on a bike, or in a car, so perhaps he didn't leave.

She can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. She should have come to see him earlier but she wanted to let him sleep, although she doubted he would find any. She didn't sleep at all, in the night. Sleep was something that never truly came easy to Maggie, not after she got cancer.

Maggie draws in a breath, which slowly passes her pale lips. She looks around, quickly, before she decides which door it is likely Hal would have exited from. It doesn't take her long to narrow the possibilities down to two doors; the first, being closest to his room but less likely as it is more visible, and the second being a little farther away from his room.

She chooses the first door, for some reason, and walks towards it. As she reaches the outside of it her eyes, instinctively, search for any traces or stains of blood. For once, she finds no blood and it is a surprising relief which she doesn't allow herself to feel because she can't feel relief until she finds him.

She makes her way down, towards the woods, and she is almost hesitant to enter them as she doesn't believe that Hal would have made it out, this far, on his own.

Just as she is about to change her mind, about to turn around and search for Hal inside, she hears something; crackling of grass, like someone was walking.

She moves forward, going down a slope, and as she does she finds him; her heart stops.

Hal's gripping on to a nearby tree, his eyes set down on to the ground. He hasn't noticed her yet. He appears to be incapable of standing by himself. She casts a look over him, taking in each and every detail because she can't miss these details and she can't forget them.

He looks up, slowly, and does a double take as she sets his eyes upon her. He says no words, he gives no explanation, because he has no words and he can't explain this.

His face is cut, bloodied. A gash runs above his, and through, his right eyebrow. His bottom lip is swollen, puffy, and covered with spots of dry blood. His hands wear the stains of dry blood.

Another cut, a deeper one, marks his left cheek just below his eyes and runs down to his jaw. His left eye is swelling, slightly, and is a dark shade of purple. A fresh cut runs across the bridge of his nose and a smaller cut marks his chin.

He doesn't react because he's worried about how she will react; he doesn't know what she will do or how she will respond. He doesn't have any of the answers to the questions she will surely ask.

She stands silent for a moment, like she can't move. She gives nothing away; no emotion, no thought and no feeling.

And then she moves towards him and he thinks she might embrace him but she doesn't. She slips her arm underneath his, assisting him so that he will be able to stand without gripping on to the tree for support.

"What happened to you?" she asks.

He can hear it. He knows, right away, that she is struggling to contain her anger.

Hal doesn't have an answer for her. He remembers walking off, in to the forest, and he remembers being fearful that Karen had been there but now he knows better and he knows she never existed. He doesn't know who did this to him but they were strong, stronger than he is right now amyway.

As Maggie sets her right hand down, on to Hal's back, he draws in a loud and painful breath of air. Such a simple thing, as her gently setting her hand on to his back, brings him such pain.

Hal grimaces as he glances down at Maggie, who is already watching him. They don't move, yet. Maggie doesn't force Hal to move, she won't until he's ready. She allows him to lean on her, as she always will, until he feels ready to move.

"I don't know." he murmurs.

She believes him because she always does and she believes he truly doesn't know what happened.

"How did you get out here?" she asks.

He answers, softly, "I remember….walking…. We should—My dad…."

"I know." Maggie answers. "If he sees you like this, he's going to….I'll take care of it." she says.

He meets her gaze and they share a look of understanding.

She'll take care of him because she wants to, because she needs to, because it is something that she will always do and something she'll always want to do.

Maggie takes a step forward, with Hal; he's unsteady, slower, and attempting to downplay the pain as they move towards the library. They enter through the nearest door on the outside of the library and once inside they move towards the first room that Maggie sets her eyes upon.

She'd heard Hal's grunts, his quiet moans of pain, and she wants to take care of him as quickly as she can. They enter the room, slowly, to find that it is empty and for that Maggie is pleased.

She assists Hal towards a table and as they reach it, his shaking hands reach out for it. He grips on to it, steadying himself upon it. Maggie informs him she'll be right back, with some supplies, and that he isn't to leave and he won't leave her again.

The fear in her eyes, that he'd seen her in the forest and the pain was enough for Hal to know that he wouldn't leave her right now, he couldn't do that to her again.

He closes his eyes, drawing in a slow breath; his throat hurts as he does this and he begins to couch loudly, repeatedly, and he does this until Maggie returns to the room. He tries to stop himself from coughing, so he won't worry her, but he can't contain it.

She passes him a jug of water, which he takes silently and thankfully, and drinks several large mouthfuls from before he places it on the table.

Maggie knows that he's sick. He must have been out in the forest for hours; his skin is pale and clammy, his forehead is wet with beads of sweat, and he looks, if possible, more unwell than when she had last looked upon him.

She doesn't speak. She doesn't tell Hal of her intentions and he isn't aware of them until she begins to remove his jacket from his body. He doesn't object. Despite that he wants to assist her, despite that he wants to show her that he's perfectly capable of caring for and looking after himself, he remains silent and still as she removes the jacket from his body.

"Hal…." she says.

Her voice pulls him out of his thoughts. He opens his eyes, immediately, and he searches for hers. He finds that he only becomes calm, again, as his eyes lock with hers.

"When I pressed my hand to your back, you…You winced." she states.

He doesn't object or say otherwise. He winced, there's no denying that.

"Are you still sore?" she asks.

She hasn't removed his shirt, from his body, yet or tended to any of his other wounds because if there is a more serious problem with his back then she wants to focus her attention on that instead of the more minor wounds on his face.

He nods, pressing his lips together. He exhales, loudly.

"Yeah…." he answers, dryly.

"Why don't you sit up, on the table?" she asks.

Maggie believes it would be a good idea for Hal to sit, on the table, as he is clearly not in a good state and a moment of relief, from standing, might do him good. The table she gestures towards is small, and not too tall, so she will be able to tend to the wounds on his face, and anywhere else on his body, without needing a stool to stand on

Hal takes a few steps towards the table and as he reaches it he pulls himself up, on to it. He looks down at Maggie, watching her closely, as she moves to his side with a bag in her hand.

She places the bag down on to the table, beside Hal, and moves closer towards him. With such care, such gentleness, her hands reach for the bottom of his shirt and without speaking, she lifts it up, slowly, off of his chest and then off of Hal entirely.

Her expression shifts immediately, noticeably, and the look that she wears on her features is something that Hal knows he will have difficulty forgetting. He lowers his gaze down so that he may see what has clearly left her at a loss for words.

He finds that his chest is heavily bruised. His stomach seems to wear the darkest, biggest purple and brown bruises. The skin is red, and raw, and patches of it are swollen. He looks up to Maggie to find that she has moved and is no longer standing before him.

He cranes his neck, to the side, and finds that she is standing behind him.

"Maggie?" he says.

She returns to where she previously stood, in front of Hal. She places her gun down on to a nearby chair before returning to Hal's chair.

"You don't know who did this to you, do you?" she asks.

She meets his gaze, as she speaks, and he sees such darkness and anger in her eyes and he knows that if she knew who did this, she would probably kill them.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Hal sighs.

It isn't as bad as it looks – it's much worse. But Hal would never say such a thing to Maggie. He wants to comfort her and convince her that it really isn't that bad so he doesn't cause her further pain or worry.

"Really?" she asks, disbelievingly. "It looks pretty bad, Hal. If-"

"If I knew I would tell you, Maggie." Hal answers, quickly. He pauses before he says, "You know I would."

She nods. "Okay." she answers.

"So…." Hal begins, softly. "Where do we-"

"Start?" she asks.

"Your ribs." she murmurs.

Maggie lifts her hands to Hal's chest and lightly runs her hands over his ribcage, which is swollen and darkly bruised.

Hal draws in a slight but noticeable breath of air. He can't pretend, as much as he wants to, that it looks worse than it feels because it doesn't feel good.

"I thought….." she says, slowly. "It didn't feel as bad as it looked?" she asks; she glances up, briefly, at Hal as she speaks and the tiniest smile, that he would have missed had he not been paying such close attention to Maggie, threatens to form on her lips.

Hal smiles, at this. For some unknown reason, he finds her words quite amusing and he smiles, a dry laugh passing his lips as he does.

"It feels as good as it looks." he states.

"Mmm…." she murmurs. "You don't seem to have any broken ribs." Maggie announces. "The ribs are bruised, definitely, but there aren't any protrusions or dents."

"That, uh…That's good?" he asks.

She pauses before she answers, "As good as it looks."

Maggie turns towards the bag she'd carried into the room, on her return. Hal finds that, upon closer inspection of the bag, he recognizes it as being one of Doctor Glass' many medical bags. He returns his gaze to Maggie, who is in the process of wrapping a cloth around what appears to be an ice pack.

"Now, this…." she begins, looking up at Hal as she speaks. "This is going to feel great." she says, sarcastically; she places the ice-pack against his ribcage as she speaks. "The ice will help to reduce the swelling and, hopefully, the pain." she adds.

Hal draws in a tight breath as the ice-pack is pressed against his ribs. His breathing deepens, noticeably, and his breaths become quicker and shorter.

Maggie holds the pack to his ribcage, for a moment, before she takes his left hand and moves it down towards the pack so he can hold it there himself.

"Keep taking deep breaths." she states. "Every few minutes take a long breath, inhale, release, wait a moment and then do it again." she says.

"Okay." Hal answers.

She pauses before she says, "If you're struggling, if it hurts, take your time and breathe slower."

Maggie returns to the bag and searches through it for a moment before she pulls out a small bowl. She removes a clean, freshly filled bottle from her belt and unscrews the lid. She pours half of its contents in the bowl before she removes a small washcloth from the bag.

She lifts her gaze towards Hal's face, now, as she carefully takes in the details, and severity, of each wound on his features. She sighs, softly, before she steps around the table and moves towards his back. The bruises on his back, while being particularly bad, are not as severe as the ones on his chest and stomach. As she doesn't have another ice-pack, she places a corner of the washcloth in the bowl and then removes it; the cloth is cold, icy, as she presses it to his back.

She can, while Hal is pressing the pack against his ribs, use the washcloth to ease the pain that the bruises are surely causing him. She gently squeezes out droplets of water on his back before running the cloth slowly up and down his back.

Maggie is careful. She is careful not to look too closely at his other bandaged wounds, and scars, on his back. She is careful to avoid touching these bandages until she has finished tending to his other wounds.

After lightly wiping the bruises on his back, with icy cold water, she moves so that she is standing in front of Hal again.

First, Maggie wipes away the dry blood that runs across the gash above and through his eyebrow. She moves down towards his lip, which is still puffy and slightly swollen, and she carefully and gently wipes away the tiniest spots of blood so that she doesn't cause him any further pain.

"You're….uh….." he begins.

"What?" she asks.

Maggie doesn't glance up, as she speaks, instead she continues to focus on wiping away the blood from his bottom lip.

"You're….I don't know….Good, at this…" Hal says.

She lifts the washcloth towards his left cheek; slowly, she wipes away the dry blood that surrounds the wound, then she cleans the blood from the wound that runs down to his jaw. She moves down to his chin, next, and gently cleans it before wiping away the blood that rests on the bridge on his nose.

"At what?" she asks, finally.

"I don't know….Taking care…." he murmurs.

Maggie hesitates. "Taking care of you?" she asks.

She looks towards him slowly, almost cautiously, as she waits for an answer.

He answers, "Yeah, I guess….."

"Let's just call it experience." Maggie mutters; as she speaks she pulls a small container, of antibiotic ointment, out of the bag.

She casts a long look over the wounds on his face before she decides she will, gently, clean them out once more just to make sure they don't get infected. She uses a fresh cloth to clean the wounds and she does this in silence.

The silence stays with them for quite some time. It only fades away, after minutes have passed, when Maggie finally speaks.

"Here." she whispers; she moves the ice-pack to his right-rib cage, guiding Hal's right hand down towards it.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, softly, as she reaches for the container of ointment.

"What did you mean?" he asks. "You said, call it experience…." he adds.

She sighs. "I just- I meant, I know how to…." she begins, softly.

"What?" he asks.

"How to take care of broken ribs, I thought yours were broken. They're not. That's all." Maggie answers, quickly, and as she speaks she purposefully avoids his gaze.

"You broke your ribs, once before…." Hal says; he's not really asking whether she broke her ribs but rather stating that she did.

She nods. "Once before." she answers. "I know how painful….it can be." Maggie says.

Maggie understands how painful injuries to a rib, or several ribs, can be and so she's letting Hal know that if the pain worsens, if he needs more medication, and if he can't get any medication through Anne as she believes he's had enough, than Maggie will try to get her hands on some to ease the pain.

They share another look, of understanding, as their eyes meet again.

"How are you feeling?" she asks.

He ignored her question, before, but she won't give up on Hal because eventually he will have to answer the question and she will keep pushing him until he does.

"Fine." he answers, sighing softly as the word passes his lips. "Tired…." he adds.

She doesn't answer Hal; instead she begins to gently rub the ointment on his wounds. She starts with the wound on his chin before she, slowly, works her way up towards the other cuts on his face. After she has finishes smoothing in the ointment, she carefully, and slowly, places bandages over the wounds that require covering such as the gash above his eyebrow, the cut marking his cheek and jaw, and the cut across the bridge of his nose.

"How'd it happen?" Hal asks.

A frown forms on Maggie's worn features. She glances up at Hal, from where she had been dipping the corner of the cloth into the bowl of water. She says nothing and simply waits for an explanation.

"I mean…." he begins, pausing only to release a small sigh. "The broken ribs." he says.

Her frown only deepens. "You were the one out there, Hal, and they're not broken." she answers.

"With you." he says, correcting himself.

She steps towards Hal, so that she is standing before him. Maggie briefly glances up at Hal before she takes his left hand, stretches it out, and wipes the dry blood off of his fingers and knuckles. She notices that as she does this she finds that his skin is raw, and reddened, and that there are small cuts on his hand – this leads her to believe that Hal managed to get a hit in, to whoever did this to him, and so she should be able to find this person easily as they might wear some bruises or marks.

"Long story, Hal." she answers.

Maggie believes she has too many long stories to tell. She also believes that Hal doesn't have to know this story; she doesn't think anyone else should ever learn this story, and she has no intention of telling it.

Silently, she takes his left hand and places it to the ice-pack so that she may remove the blood from his right hand. Just as Maggie is about to wipe the blood away, from his knuckles, Hal pulls his hand away slightly and shifts it so that he is able to hold her hand.

Such a simple thing is so unexpected, to Maggie. She all but freezes at the touch; she looks down upon Hal's hand, holding hers, for a moment and she finds she doesn't know what to say or what to feel.

"Maggie…." he whispers.

Her name sounds painful as it passes his lips; she knows that he is in pain, and she knows that he is trying to heal but she also knows that a part of him doesn't want to heal and a part of Hal probably wants to feel pain because he feels deserving of it because of what the aliens forced him to do.

"Hal." she sighs.

And he knows what will come; an objection or a rejection. She'll run away or pull away. She'll say nothing else and they'll fall in to another silence and perhaps he deserves to be in a silence. He isn't deserving of her, he knows this and he accepts it entirely because one day he believes she might find someone better, someone purer, someone with a good heart.

"Okay." he murmurs. "It's okay." he repeats.

But it's not okay; nothing about this new world is okay, nothing about Hal is okay, nothing between he and Maggie is okay.

"You know…." Maggie begins.

"I don't." Hal answers.

He doesn't know how she feels, or what Maggie thinks, and Hal doesn't know if the bug is still inside of his mind. He doesn't know how Matt is. At some moments, he doesn't know what's real and what isn't and those moments are becoming frighteningly frequent. He doesn't know if he can make it back from the dark places he has been and he doesn't know if he's strong enough to heal.

No one can know, with certainty, what the future holds. Hal doesn't know what his future holds because he doesn't see it.

"I don't know what you think, how you feel….Not anymore. I'm not sure….I mean, how could I be?" he says, dejectedly. "Sometimes, you look at me like you might but at other times….I don't know." he murmurs, lifelessly.

"You know I care about you, Hal." Maggie says, softly.

He responds, quietly, "It's not enough – for you."

She hesitates. "What are you talking about, Hal?" she asks.

He simply sighs, in response, as he finds no words to answer that question.

Maggie pauses, for a long time, before she says, "Keep breathing, long, in drawn breaths. It'll ease the pain."

Sometimes, in your darkest, loneliest moments when all you want to do is give up you have to be reminded to keep breathing, to keep moving on, because you're defeated, you're done, and if it were up to you you'd forget to breathe.

You'll be reminded by someone that cares about you, someone who wants you to keep moving forward, and even if you know in your heart that you can't move forward you'll keep breathing for them because it's an illusion; they deserve it, this momentary illusion, because they have done so much to keep you here, they've fought so hard for you, and they deserve this moment of false hope and that's what it is. It's false hope, an illusion, because eventually you'll be gone.

* * *

The air outside is cold, too cold, as Tom steps outside. He finds it refreshing, soothing, as he takes slow steps away from the front doors of the library. He keeps to himself because he needs a moment to himself. He draws in a long, slow breath of air and closes his eyes, tightly.

Tom is tired. He's more than tired. He's exhausted, physically and mentally, and what worries Tom is that if he is feeling so exhausted than Hal must be feeling significantly worse, after all that he has been through, and Tom can't imagine feeling any worse, any more exhausted, than he does now.

He knows he will have to visit Captain Weaver soon, so that they can discuss their next move, their tactics and so on. But before that, he has to find Ben and ensure that he's okay. Then, he has to check in on Hal and Anne – and all the while his thoughts, as they are at this moment, will be filled with Matt.

Tom misses his youngest son. He misses him more than he can admit, more than he can allow himself to feel, because if he were to truly reflect on how much he misses Matt, on how achingly empty he feels without him, then he would break and he can't do such a thing right now.

He needs to be together, for his sons. He can't break, he can't give in. He has to fight and continue fighting for as long as he possibly can.

The sound of an engine, in the distance, moving towards Tom causes his body to stiffen up. His eyes open, instantly, and he sets his gaze down upon the distant road before them. He squints, so that he may attempt to see it – and when he does, his fingers instinctively reach for his gun.

A truck, that is unfamiliar to Tom, is moving at a very fast speed towards the library. Tom doesn't know who it is or why they are driving towards them but his first thoughts aren't good ones. They've never had good experiences with outsiders, so Tom sees no reason that this time should be any different.

They need to ready themselves for the possibility of an attack.

"We got a truck coming in, from the north!" Tom shouts, out, as he turns back towards those outside the library.

He finds Logan, Broderick, Ronald, Conor, Tector, Lee, Pope and Lyle outside. Tector moves inside, quickly, in search of the Captain who surely would want to be alerted about the truck moving towards them.

"Take your stations!" Tom calls out.

He moves, quickly, behind the barricade which was set up by the Marines as a precaution. It is piled with heavy bags, similar to the barricade which they set up against the mechs. But this time, it's different, they don't know if it is a friend or enemy coming towards them and Tom's worried they'll never be able to determine with certainty who is on their side and who isn't.

The soldiers prepare themselves, weapons loaded and readied, as the truck moves closer towards them but suddenly, it stops – as though it has just noticed now the fighters, who have their weapons readied, outside of the library.

And for a moment, it sits there, unmoving, silent, and as it does the infinite possibilities about who it is and why they are here run through Tom's mind.

Tom takes a step down from the barricade and as he does Logan, who somehow knows what Tom is planning to do, speaks.

"You are to remain here, Tom Mason. You will not approach the vehicle." Logan states.

Tom shares a brief exchange with Isaac, who is standing a few feet down from where Logan stands, before he returns his gaze to Logan.

"What-" Tom begins.

He falls silent as he sets his eyes upon the man who has just stepped out of the vehicle. Tom is stricken with a great sense of impending doom as he casts his eyes over the man.

First, Tom doesn't believe what he sees. He won't believe this because if he does, and if this person is actually here with them, then something must be wrong. It must be terribly wrong.

"Put your hands up, in the air!" Ronald shouts, loudly, at the man.

Tom steps forward, ignoring Logan's previous commands, and towards the man who has stepped out of the vehicle. As he takes slow, small steps towards the truck his suspicions, and his fears, are confirmed.

This man is limping; he appears weak, and slow, and as Tom comes closer he sees that he is using a crutch. His face is bandaged, heavily, just as his neck and arms are.

Tom recognizes those eyes. He recognizes his hair, despite that it is much longer than it was on their last encounter.

"Don't shoot!" Tom calls out. "Hold your fire!" he yells.

Tom moves faster, towards Joseph, who he sees is barely able to stand alone. He casts his glance, quickly, back towards the truck behind him and as he does he wonders why no one else has emerged from the truck, why no one else has come to help Joseph who is clearly unwell.

As Tom nears Joseph, he comes to see dark bruises running underneath both of his eyes and across his nose. His chin, right cheek, forehead and neck are bandaged and blood has slowly begun to seep through the bandage on his neck. His right arms are covered with patches of uneven, frayed bandages. He rests on the same, one crutch.

He takes a step towards Tom but as he does his left leg gives out, as he feared it might, and he becomes unsteady. He begins to fall but luckily, Tom was only a few feet away and is able to dart to his side and stop him from falling.

Tom steadies Joseph. He holds him up easily as Joseph is quite skinny, too skinny, and frail.

"Joseph, Joseph – What..." Tom begins; he speaks so quickly, so rushed, because he doesn't understand why Joseph has come back from them and how he has found them.

"You know this man, Tom Mason?" Logan asks.

Tom nods, quickly, as he turns back to face Logan briefly.

"I do." he answers. "He was a fighter in the group of civilians we sent away." Tom adds.

Tom turns back towards Joseph to find his eyes are flickering between being closed or open. His breathing is slower, weaker, and he is, physically, relying on Tom more as the pain he feels in his back moves throughout his body and makes him significantly weaker.

"Why are you here?" Logan asks.

Joseph doesn't answer. Instead, he shakes his head once.

"Why – Why did you come back?" Tom asks. "Did something happen?" he asks.

Joseph closes his eyes, again, and as he does his body begins to slump.

It is now, and only now, that Tom begins to see the blood that covers Joseph's body; dry, old stains but still, he must be injured if he is this unwell. What worries Tom is how Joseph was injured.

"Joseph..." Tom begins.

Pope moves towards Tom and Joseph, stepping past an incredibly cautious and wary Logan. He moves towards the right side of Joseph's body and puts his arm, underneath his shoulder, so that he may support him physically.

"Let's get him outside before he dies in the mud, huh?" Pope suggests.

Logan steps past Tom, with Broderick and Conor by his side, and he moves towards the truck which still has not moved – but the engine continues to run.

"I'm sorry..." Joseph murmurs, his eyes still tightly closed.

"What- What are you sorry for?" Tom asks.

But he receives no answer because Joseph, who is so incredibly past the point of exhaustion, passes out.

"Let's get him inside." Pope repeats.

As Tom and Pope begin to move inside, towards Anne, they see Logan and the other Marines moving quickly, past them, and towards Captain Weaver who has just surfaced from the room and made his way down, on the ground, outside the library.

"Captain, a word?" Logan requests.

Weaver directs his gaze towards a lifeless Joseph and pauses.

"What's going on?" he asks, the worry clear on the Captain's face.

"We don't know, Captain." Tom calls out.

"We do know." Logan corrects him.

"Then, would you mind informing us of it?" Pope asks. "Or would that be too much to ask?" he questions, sharply.

"There were two Soldiers, from Charleston, in the truck." Broderick says.

"Why have they delivered Joseph to us and why is he injured?" Weaver asks. "What happened?" he asks.

"Here..." Dai says; he moves forward, with Anthony inside, and offers to carry Joseph's body inside.

Joseph needs help, there's no denying that, and Tom clearly needs to speak with the Captain.

"You shouldn't be here." Logan states, loudly, as he turns towards Tom Mason.

That anger which Logan is feeling, at this very moment, is more than clear in his voice. The anger fills his eyes, and his expression, and he is almost at the point of being unable to contain it.

But he will contain it because they will do things the right way, how they should have been done in the first place, and lashing out in anger won't achieve anything right now.

"I shouldn't be here?!" Tom replies, loudly.

He steps forward. "I'm not sure if you've forgotten but this is the Second Massachusetts, which I am the Second in Command of." Tom states.

"Whatever you have to say, First Sergeant, you may say in front of Tom Mason." Weaver states, firmly and confidently.

Logan redirects his gaze towards the Captain; the anger has disappeared from his face for a brief moment and in this moment a flicker of something similar to a pained expression appears.

"The vehicles carrying civilians of the Second Massachusetts towards Charleston were attacked during movement, before they reached Charleston." Logan states, grimly.

"Wait- So- Who- What did they say?" Tom asks; the panic which he feels consuming him and eroding his insides is painfully clear.

Pope swallows tightly, alerting Tector who stands beside him that it's very likely that in a matter of seconds Pope will lose it and all hell will probably break loose.

"The men informed me that the civilian vehicles were attacked. They did not specify, despite my persistence, how many civilian's were injured and how many were lost. They did not divulge the information of who attacked them."

"Then what did they tell you?!" Tom yells; the veins on his neck and forehead stand out, his body has stiffened up noticeably, and he too appears moments away from losing it, from breaking.

"Tom..." Weaver begins.

"Don't tell me it's alright, Dan. The civilian's were attacked. We don't know- We don't know-" Tom begins, quickly.

"Anything." Logan answers. "I only gained the information that Charleston had provided the civilians, who wished to return, vehicles to do so. That is all." Logan adds.

Pope clenches his jaw, tightly. He lifts his right hand up to his forehead and runs it, angrily, over his face and up through his hair. He drops his hand to his side before he lifts it again and gestures towards Weaver.

"You said they'd be safe. You gave us that crap speech about strength, and safety, and you had no idea what you were sending them out into!" Pope states, loudly.

Broderick takes a step towards Pope, resting a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder. He understands that John Pope has a child, in Charleston, and so he knows the worry and fear that he must be feeling in regards to this potential loss.

"Get your hand off me!" Pope snaps, almost growling, as he effortlessly shoves Broderick away.

"You said-" Pope begins, stepping towards the Captain as he speaks.

"We don't know how they are, Pope." Weaver counters, quickly. "For all we know-"

"For all we know," Pope shouts, quickly and loudly. "They could all be dead! AND all because of your plan to send them to Charleston, so they'd be safe." he adds.

"Pope, that's enough..." Tom sighs, stepping forward slightly.

"You're siding with him, Mason?" Pope growls. "After- Your boy, Matt, he could be dead for all we know and what will the Captain lose? His civilians? Yes. But his children? No. You don't – I must say, Captain – what a truly freakin' marvellous plan this has turned out to be! But it wasn't yours, was it? It was these Marines, these honorable men, who you listened to despite that you knew that it wasn't for the best. Didn't you? Didn't you know?"

"It wasn't our idea." Isaac states, loudly.

"Sure! Back away from it once the blame-" Pope begins.

"It wasn't our idea." Isaac repeats.

"Whose idea was it, then?" Pope replies, sharply.

Isaac slowly looks towards Tom, who he finds watching him already. He draws in a slow breath of air as the two share an understanding and as they do, Tom's expression appears to falter.

Tom won't believe it. He won't believe it until he hears the words come from Isaac's mouth and even then he won't believe it. He could never believe such a thing.

"We proposed the idea...after..." Isaac begins.

"Hal." Broderick murmurs. "Hal Mason came to us and proposed that we attempt to relocate the civilian's to Charleston, as they would be safer there."

"Hal?" Tom begins.

He begins to ask, to check, that Hal came to them and proposed such a thing.

"Dad?" Hal calls back.

Tom turns quickly, his head snapping in the direction of Hal's voice. And he finds Hal, standing towards the back of the group; his face is heavily bandaged and what parts aren't bandaged are swollen and bruising. Maggie stands by his side, as she always has; a still and emotionless statue. He looks away from Maggie and towards Ben, who stands beside Isaac.

Ben doesn't move, he doesn't speak. He remains just as frozen, just as empty, as Maggie.

Tom draws in several sharp breaths before swallowing tightly.

"What-What's going on, Dad?" Hal asks.

But as the words pass his lips, Pope moves and grabs Hal, harshly, by the collar of his shirt. Hal doesn't fight as his body is slammed, harshly, on to the dirt that he once stood on.

Pope picks Hal up again and just as he readies himself to hit Hal, Tom strongly tears Pope away and Maggie directs Hal backwards, away from Pope.

Hal doesn't fight Maggie because he doesn't have anything left to fight with.

"Fighting won't solve this." Tom states; his voice is so shaky, so unsteady, and he sounds so uncertain and unsure.

"I beg to differ." Pope replies. "He-He's the reason-" Pope begins. "It's YOU!" Pope exclaims, loudly and madly. "It's your fault. I knew you'd bring them to us. I should have put that goddamn bullet in to your freakin' skull when I had the chance!" he shouts.

For a second, Tom forgets about Pope's shouting and about everything else around him. Tom focuses on Hal for a second. He lifts his hands to his son's shoulder as he tries to straighten out Hal's shirt.

"What...What..." Tom begins.

He shakes his head, quickly. "You shouldn't be up, Hal. You shouldn't. You're not well. You shouldn't be up." Tom says.

His hands shake as he rests them on Hal's shoulder. "Who did this?" he asks.

Tom is about to break; Hal can see it in his father's eyes and it is something he feared he might one day see and knowing that he was the cause of his father's break causes Hal a great deal of insufferable pain.

"Back of, Pope." Maggie warns.

"You didn't hear, did you?" Pope shouts, at Maggie.

He doesn't mean to shout, at her, but he can't stop himself. It happens because he's mad, he's furious, and he's panicking that his son has been injured or worse – he's dead. He can't lose him. He can't lose the last person he has on this earth, he can't lose the person who means the most to him.

"We should go inside, Captain." Isaac suggests.

"Bug-central set the whole thing up!" Pope shouts, madly. He turns to Maggie, as he declares, "My boy, he's probably dead. Yours too."

Hal glances towards Maggie. "Your boy?" he asks, the confusion dripping of the word 'boy' as though he is so unsure of what Pope means and who Maggie's boy is.

"Captain, we must proceed with the correct methods-" Logan begins.

"Correct methods?" Tom asks, turning towards Logan. "You're not going near him." Tom states.

"I did that?" Hal asks, his voice breaking as he speaks.

"You can't protect him anymore, Tom." Logan states.

Isaac nods, sadly, at Hal which gives him his answer; he requested the movement of the civilians and they were attacked on the way to Charleston. It can't be a coincidence because nothing in this new world is a simply coincidence.

"He's not your son." Logan declares. With a slightly louder tone, Logan begins, "Not anymore. He is a traitor, our enemy, and he deserves-"

"Deserves to what?" Hal asks.

Hal hesitates. "I deserve to die?" he asks.

"So, do it." Hal states, simply.

Tom turns, quickly, back towards Hal. A look of horror rests on his father's exhausted face.

Hal meets Ben's gaze and finds it to be so empty, so cold, and this only causes Hal greater pain. And the fear that he feels, at the simple thought of never seeing Matt again, destroys Hal.

Hal is done. He has given everything, and lost so much, and he has nothing left to give. He can't fight this battle anymore, he can't win it. He never had a chance of winning it.

"Hal..." Maggie says, softly.

"Kill me, then, if I deserve it." Hal shouts, loudly, his cold voice echoing in the silence. "I won't fight you. I won't. I won't fight it." he says.

"Hal." Tom cries. "Don't say that. You don't mean that, Hal. You don't." he says, quickly.

"We'll wait until Joseph wakes up." Weaver says, loudly. "Then, we will learn the details and extent of the attack and determine what our next move is." he says.

Weaver doesn't believe that Hal should be punished for something he had no control of. It wasn't his fault, or his doing, and so he shouldn't be deemed as guilty when he is innocent.

"If we lost anyone – if anyone is dead, then you can consider it my punishment." Hal states, firmly holding Logan's gaze as he speaks.

Hal isn't afraid of death, not anymore. At least he wouldn't feel any pain or cause anyone else any further pain. They'd miss him, at first. They'd mourn him, and grieve, but eventually, with time, they would move on and he wouldn't inflict any further pain on them.

With time, they would remember him occasionally for who he was not who he became after the aliens took him. If he were to die, it would be his last way of showing them how he would always put them first, how he would do anything for them, and how much he loved them.

* * *

**A/N: If you're reading this, thanks for reading my story. I appreciate it so much.**

**I apologise for any grammatical errors, there are bound to be some because there always are. I did re-check it several times.  
I also apologise for this chapter, I'm not sure if I'm happy with this chapter but I hope you are.**

**Thanks for reading.  
I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	65. This is our inevitable end

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

"Your brothers need you, Hal, and I need you." Tom says; he speaks calmly, slowly, as he tries to keep Hal's attention focused solely on him.

Despite Tom's attempts to convince him that they need him, that they love him, Hal doesn't believe it, not for a second; no one needs him, they only think they do and they only believe this because they are tricked by illusions and memories of who he once was and what he was once capable of doing.

With a slight reluctance, Hal glances towards Tom.

"Okay?" Tom says. "We all need you, even though you think we don't." he adds.

"You're wasting time." Hal answers, sharply.

They are wasting their time waiting for him to come home. Hal knows he can't come home, not after everything he has done, he isn't deserving of coming back home to them or becoming who he once was.

"We're all wasting time. We need to pack up, and get moving, and we need to head to Charleston for the civilians and for Matt." Hal states, loudly, angrily, and he sounds so sure and certain that they have no other choice, no other option, but to go to Charleston and bring Matt home.

For a second, Tom sees the old Hal back. And from the look that Tom briefly catches on Maggie's features, as well as Ben's, they can see the old Hal back too. But, sadly, he disappears just as quickly as he appeared.

There isn't much of the old Hal back, he's struggling and he may never come back. But these flashes, these flickers of light, of who he was provide them with hope that he may, one day, come back.

"I can't go. I can't, Dad." Hal states, quickly. "You know why I can't." he adds; he can't go because he's dangerous, because he isn't good, because he is engulfed by a plaguing darkness which sickens and destroys all that he touches. "But you – You need to do this for me, okay, Dad?" Hal says.

His father needs to go because he is still good, still pure, and he is not plagued by Hal, not yet.

"The Captain has a point." Tom sighs. "We can only wait until Joseph wakes up. Besides, the civilians are coming to us." Tom adds.

Hal shakes his head in disbelief, in denial, as he backs away from Tom. Hal glances between Maggie and Ben, who still stand beside him after everyone else has left and continued on with their other duties. He draws in a sharp breath.

"Not good enough..." Hal declares.

"What?" Tom asks, frowning slightly, his face still covered with such pain, such regret and agony.

"It's not good enough, Dad! It's not good enough. We shouldn't be sitting around and waiting-" Hal begins, speaking loudly.

"You shouldn't be up at all!" Tom replies, quickly. "Who did this, to you?" he asks.

He receives no answer.

Tom glances towards Maggie for an answer which Hal won't give. She remains silent and unmoving. She stays cold and empty.

"Hal." Tom says, firmly.

Hal sighs. "Alright." he says. "I'll go in." he adds.

"Hal, don't – who did this to you, Hal? Why are you protecting them?" Tom asks.

"I don't know, okay, Dad?" Hal replies. "And I don't care. I don't." he adds.

Tom steps towards Hal as he says, "Why? Because you think you deserve it."

"No." Hal answers.

"Good." Tom says, but he speaks too quickly.

"I know it." Hal answers, meaning that he knows that he deserves it.

He casts one last look over his father before he turns to Maggie. She sighs, softly, and without a word she moves towards Hal's side and slips her arm underneath his shoulder to assist him moving inside.

He hates this; Hal hates feeling useless, and weak, but that's what he is right now. He'll grow stronger with time, as most things do. He just needs time, that's all, but unfortunately time is not something that is granted to everyone and before you know it you're time could be gone.

"Hal's right." Ben announces, only seconds after Hal is gone.

Tom turns quickly to face Ben, he wears a look of exhaustion mixed with fear, pain and confusion on his face.

"About what?" Tom asks.

"About us going after Matt. We should." Ben says.

"You don't think I want that, Ben?" Tom asks. "I want it more than anything but if they're coming to us, we're just wasting fuel. I know – the wait is excruciating. And the thinking, the fear – but he'll be here soon. I know it. Okay? He'll be fine, he'll come back to us." he says, softly, as he grips on to Ben's shoulder lightly.

"We can't assume the worse while there's still hope." Tom states.

And as those words pass his lips, Ben wonders how his father always has hope, even in the darkest moments. Ben clings on to this hope, his father's hope, that his brothers will come home to him.

* * *

Hal is resting in the armchair beside his bed when Ben comes to visit him, and he doesn't notice his brothers presence at the start.

His eyes are closed tightly. He sits, slightly slumped, in the chair because he doesn't want to get back in that bed, he can't get back in it. He asked Maggie to leave, because he was tired and wanted to sleep, and she'd agreed to it – but he knew she'd be back to check in on him soon.

She didn't like the idea of him resting in a chair, instead of a bed, because she believed he needed to rest properly but she left him, for now, because when she returned she would attempt to convince him to sleep in a bed.

Ben coughs, once, and this alerts Hal of his presence in the room.

His eyes open slowly, they dart towards Ben like he'd been expecting someone else and Ben knows who he was expecting; he was expecting it to be an alien, a mech, or Karen.

Hal draws in a long breath of cold air which is harsh on his insides.

"Why are you here, Ben?" Hal asks, with a low voice.

Ben pauses. "Who did that to you?" he asks.

"Not as bad as it looks, Ben." Hal replies.

"That's not what I asked." Ben counters.

Hal shifts, slightly, in his chair. "Why are you here, Ben?" he repeats.

Then, Hal realizes why he is here – Ben is here because Tom must have asked him to come check on him and watch him, to make sure he was fine.

"Dad sent you." Hal murmurs, sighing loudly.

"He's worried." Ben states.

"How did he do that?" Hal asks.

He moves his hands down to the side of his chair, drawing in a slow breath, before he props himself up and stands from the chair. His body is weak. A small groan passes his lips as he does this. He grimaces.

"What?" Ben replies, frowning slightly.

"Come on, Ben." Hal sighs. "Don't play stupid." he says.

"I'm not playing anything, Hal." Ben replies, sharply.

"How did he convince you to come babysit me, Ben?" he asks. "I mean...That's what you're doing, right?" Hal asks.

Ben stays silent.

"You wouldn't visit me voluntarily, on your own terms, would you? So, he must have sent you." Hal murmurs, lowly, meeting Ben's gaze as he speaks.

Ben shakes his head, once. "It's..." he begins.

"What, Ben?" Hal asks.

"It's difficult, okay?" Ben says.

"You don't think I know that?" Hal asks. "I'm not asking anything of you, Ben." he admits, honestly. "I'm not. I don't want you here just as much as you don't want to be here." he says.

Hal pauses.

"And I don't blame you, Ben, for not wanting to be here. I don't." Hal adds.

Hal's not being honest; he wants Ben here, he wants his brothers and his father by his side, but he knows that they deserve better and he knows they don't need him like he needs them. He's dependent on them, too dependent. He's draining them, sucking away all any any life and hope they have left, like a deadly virus, a parasite, and he can't do that to them anymore.

"I counted on you, Hal." Ben admits, painfully. "I relied on you, and believed in you and you asked me to kill you." Ben says, stating his reasons for why he finds it so difficult to be around his brother. "I can't forget that." he adds, with a much lower and sadder tone.

Hal knows this and he understands it. He understands that Ben can't and won't move past this, or forgive him, and Hal doesn't seek forgiveness because he is so far past the point of forgiveness.

"I don't want you to, Ben." Hal answers, coldly. "I don't want you to forget." he admits.

Ben nods, once. "I can't forget." he states.

"What I've done?" Hal asks.

Ben falls silent again.

"I can't either, Ben." Hal admits, with a voice that is calm, almost too calm. "And I don't expect you to forget. I don't expect anything from you." he says.

Ben shifts in his stance. He pauses, drawing in a long breath of air.

"He's going to be okay." Hal states.

Ben's frown deepens.

"Matt." Hal adds, after noting his brother's confusion. "And when you get him back, don't let him out of your sight again." Hal says, wanting Ben to promise he won't allow their brother to be taken from them again.

"You sound like...You're leaving..." Ben begins. "You can't do-"

"Promise me you'll take care of Matt." Hal says, loudly, cutting Ben off. "And Dad." he adds.

Ben doesn't speak because he doesn't want to promise Hal this because that means that Hal intends to go somewhere.

"Ben." Hal says, sternly.

"Okay." Ben agrees.

"Okay?" Hal asks.

Ben simply nods. He watches, silently, as Hal lowers his head. For a moment he blinks a little faster, like his eyes are burning because he's fighting the potential tears that might fall. He tilts his head, slightly to the side, as he presses his lips tightly together until the color begins to fade from them.

Hal meets Ben's unwavering gaze and holds it.

"And Maggie..." Hal murmurs.

Ben nods, slowly. "Okay." he answers, finally.

"Okay." Hal repeats, turning away from Ben.

He moves slowly as he turns away from Ben and once he has his back to him he doesn't glance back because he can't look back. Hal closes his eyes and draws in a long breath of air, he draws it in like it will be his last.

He hears the door close behind him, and his brother's footsteps echoing down the hallway, and he releases the breath of air.

His eyes flicker towards his watch, the watch his father gave him, resting on the table beside the coin that Maggie gave him. He pauses, his eyes set firmly down upon the two objects. As he stares at them he is reminded of a simpler time, a better time, a time that he is certain he can never go back to and never experience again.

* * *

Joseph wakes, feeling numb to the pain he was previously overwhelmed and consumed by, to a silence. He opens his eyes slowly to find he is an unfamiliar room and then he sets his eyes down upon a familiar face; Doctor Glass.

He coughs, lowly, as he tries to speak.

Anne reaches for the glass of water, at Joseph's bedside, and moves to his side. She kneels down and presses the glass to his lips, so that he may easily swallow the contents. He coughs several times before he manages to swallow the liquid. He drinks most of the contents before he pulls away.

"Tom..." he murmurs, closing his eyes briefly.

"Tom's right here, Joseph." Anne informs him.

Joseph hadn't noticed that Tom was in the room because he was too weak, too tired, to turn his head to look.

He sighs, softly, with his eyes still closed.

"First, tell me how you're feeling." Anne says, softly.

Joseph hesitates. "Tom..." he murmurs, again.

"I'm here, Joseph." Tom says. "And so is Pope, and Captain Weaver." Tom adds.

Tom purposefully avoids telling Joseph that the marines are also in the room, with them.

Joseph opens his eyes slowly to find Tom sitting on the bed, beside him. Tom smiles, at small and weak smile, as he sets his eyes on him.

"I need you tell me, to tell us, everything you remember, Joseph." Tom says.

Joseph draws in a long breath. He shakes his head once before he attempts to move, and sit up in the bed.

Tom stops him, with gentle hands.

"You don't want to do that, Joseph, you're hurt." Tom says. "Stay where you are, it's okay." he adds.

Joseph rests his head back down, on to his pillow, and draws in another, longer, breath of air.

"I'm sorry, Tom." he whispers.

"For what?" Tom asks.

Joseph murmurs, "I'm sorry."

"Tell me what happened, Joseph." Tom says. "Tell me what you're sorry for." he says.

Joseph's breathing deepens, noticeably. His hands shake slightly. He meets Tom's gaze reluctantly, slowly, with eyes filled with such pain, such regret and anger.

"What happened?" Tom asks.

"I tried..." Joseph murmurs.

As he closes his eyes, he can see the flashes of the attack, the flickers of light, the splattering of blood on the ground, and the bodies.

"I tried..." he repeats. "I'm sorry. I couldn't. It – they just..." he begins.

He pauses, swallowing tightly. He draws in a longer, sharper breath of air which causes him to almost gasp.

"They hit us. The crawlies..." he admits.

His forehead is sweating. His eyes are closed now. His hands are clenched, tightly, in to fists by his sides. He stays still and silent for a moment.

"The aliens attacked you?" Weaver asks, breaking the moment of silence.

"They came outta nowhere. And they got us. Bad." Joseph answers; he speaks lowly, quickly, and mumbles a few words.

His eyes are open, again, and they are set on Tom Mason.

"I tried but I'm sorry..." he murmurs, his eyes closing almost against his will as he feels himself dozing off.

His body is past the point of exhaustion, as his mind is, and he needs to rest.

"I didn't keep him safe...I said I would an' I didn't..." Joseph admits, sadly.

Tom shakes his head. "What are you talking about, Joseph? Who didn't you keep safe?" he asks.

Then, it dawns upon Tom who Joseph is talking about. Before he left, for Charleston, Joseph assured Tom that he would keep an eye out on Matt, that he'd keep him safe.

Tom tries to shake Joseph, so that he will open his eyes and answer his questions.

"Matt?" Tom asks, his hands gripping on to Joseph's shoulders.

His eyes flicker between being opened and closed.

"Matt- what- What happened to Matt?" Tom asks, speaking so quickly and with such a pained voice.

Anne tries to pull Tom back, away from Joseph, but he won't move, he won't budge.

Joseph's face contorts into an expression of deep sadness, pain and guilt. "They got him, an' I couldn't do anything, Tom, an' they hurt him... I'm sorry..." he whispers, closing his eyes slowly as those last words pass his lips.

* * *

Tom vomits, as he steps outside. He can't stop himself. He feels disgusted, sickened, and repulsed at himself for being so stupid, and so blind, to believe that Matt would be better, safer, happier in Charleston.

Anne had followed him outside and had tried to smooth his back but he'd stepped away from her, recoiling from her touch, as he dry retched into the grass.

Matt could be dead.

Joseph had spoken about how the aliens had attacked them and how he had been helpless, defenseless, and unprepared.

Tom was not able to fight the guilt which over came him, and this guilt came just as the grief did. Tears streamed down his cheeks, relentlessly, and at first he wasn't aware of these tears.

Tom was done, he was defeated, broken, and he knew he could never come back from this if they lost Matt.

"Joseph isn't well, Tom. He's delusional." Anne whispers, softly, as she steps towards him.

Tom turns to her, eyes devoid of any emotion, with an empty expression on his features which remain as exhausted as they always do. Tom stays silent, he remains empty.

"He spoke of his wife, before he was entirely awake. You were there. He spoke like she was with him, in the room. He needs to recover and we need to have faith." she says, taking his hands as she speaks.

Tom lowers his head, slightly, and closes his eyes. "What if..." he begins but finds he can't finish that sentence.

He becomes more distraught, lifting his hands to his face. Anne wraps her arms around his chest, softly, and she holds him as he lowers his head into the crevice of her neck.

Tom sobs. He cries for his son, who he may never see again – he cries for all of his sons and how he has failed them in so many ways. He hasn't protected them. If anything, he has caused them further pain.

"We don't, okay, Tom? Not with certainty." Anne whispers, gently, in to Tom's ear as she soothes his back with her hands. "Matt's coming home to us, okay. I promise you, he's coming home." she promises, softly.

Tom wants to believe her, more than anything else in the world, but he finds it so difficult to. He can't believe her until he sets his eyes upon his son and when that moment comes, he won't ever be letting Matt again.

* * *

Hal leaves his room.

He leaves it because he has to, because he hates being in it, because it drives him mad and he leaves because he has to find Maggie.

Her son. Pope spoke of her son and as he did, fragments had returned to Hal. A young boy, soft hair, eyes that he remembers hearing Maggie describe to him – but that was so long ago.

Hal can't remember when. He doesn't remember her exact words but when he sees the boys eyes, when he closes his eyes, he can hear her voice and he can hear her speaking of him.

He feels a guilt weighing down upon him. He wants it to shatter him, to destroy him, and he knows eventually it will.

Hal feels an emptiness that can't be filled. He feels a fear when he thinks of the possibility of Matt being hurt.

He doesn't believe that Matt has died because Hal is certain that if such a thing had occurred than he would know – his family means so much to him that if he were to ever lose one of them he would surely feeling a dark, gaping hole inside of him.

He would know if Matt was gone from this world and so Hal knows Matt is still with them and that he will return to him.

And now Hal knows that Ben will watch over Matt, when he returns, because it is something that Hal can't do. He can't take care of his brothers anymore and that torments him, haunts him, and kills him. He can't be who he was and that destroys him.

He can't go back and he can't move forward. He's stuck and he's shattering. He's frozen and fearful. He's done. He's defeated and he sees no reason to fight anymore.

He finds Maggie outside of the library, through the door they exited to follow the gazebo. She's sitting on a log, that has fallen down on to the ground, with her back towards him.

For some reason, that Hal can't remember, he thought that he might find Maggie outside.

He steps towards her, slowly, and as he does he remembers a fragment of a familiar conversation.

"Still scraping my heels, when I walk?" Hal calls out.

Maggie opens her eyes at the sound of his soft voice but she doesn't turn around to face him.

He continues walking towards, slowly, his chest aching, his legs jolting with pain and threatening to collapse with each step.

And his back; the pain varies, in Hal's back. At moments, it will be so intense, so severe and aching that he searches desperately for medication, to ease the pain, that he doesn't find. Then, the pain will fade away and transition into a numbness.

As Hal nears Maggie, he is able to see her shoving something, quickly, in to the pocket of her jacket.

It takes him a moment before he realizes what it is; her pocket knife.

Hal draws in a breath as the flicker of silver, which his eyes had caught from his knife, stuns him.

Hal hesitates. He lowers himself down, carefully and slowly, so that he may sit beside Maggie.

She glances towards him, wearing an unimpressed look on her face.

"What?" he asks.

"You're not supposed to be up." she states, the unimpressed look remains.

But that's all she says.

She doesn't fight him. She doesn't force him to return; instead, she watches him.

He simply holds her gaze.

She sighs. "Matt's going to be fine, Hal. He's a fighter." she says, confidently.

Hal hesitates. "I know." he says, after a moment.

He has to believe that Matt will be fine, that he will return to them, because he won't even consider the alternative.

"You remembered..." she begins, softly, shifting her gaze towards her hands. "About your heels." she states.

"Fragments..." he answers.

"You used to scrape them, a lot, when we were on patrol." Maggie admits. "Do you remember that?" she asks, turning to look at him again as she speaks.

"I do." he answers. "I remember...We were on patrol and the mechs came." he says.

Her face becomes even more unreadable, even colder, and as it does she briefly looks away.

"You do?" she asks.

He nods once. "Sometimes..." he begins.

"What?" Maggie asks, when he remains silent for quite some time.

"Nothing." Hal murmurs.

"It's not nothing, Hal." Maggie counters, quickly. "What?" she repeats.

He sighs, loudly.

"Sometimes, I wish we could go back... Okay...So, not sometimes. All of the time, I wish we could go back." Hal admits; his voice becomes lower as he speaks, slowly.

Maggie draws in a long breath. "So do I." she answers.

"But..." she continues. "We can't go back. There's no going back." she says.

He knows this is the truth but that doesn't make it any easier for either of them.

Maggie lifts her hands up to her neck.

Hal watches as she fidgets with something at the back of her neck. She takes the item from around her neck and holds it in her hands.

She pauses, lowering her gaze down on to Hal's hand which rests on the log. She picks up his right hand, with her left hand, and she holds it as she sets the chain down in to his palm.

It feels cold, icy, as it falls in his palm. He looks down to see the Saint Jude Pendant, which he remembers picking up for Maggie those many months ago, in his hand.

He meets her gaze and smiles. And this smile, despite that it is small, weak, and there is such pain and fear lurking behind it, is genuine.

"You are..." he begins. "How are you still here?" he asks her.

She doesn't answer.

"With me." he adds, clearing things up.

She replies, "Because we're partners."

"You've got my back, I've got yours. That's what matters, right?" he asks.

And those words sound so familiar to the words that she remembers once telling Hal.

He remembers that conversations, he remembers most of their conversations, but there are moments when his memory loses those memories he wants to keep, those he wants to remember, those he always wants to hold on to.

Hal takes her hand, with his right hand, and sets the chain in to it. Then, he slowly and carefully, slides his fingers in the gaps between hers so that he is holding her hand.

"You need it more than I do." he whispers, so softly that she only just catches the words as they pass his lips.

She stares down at Hal's hand holding hers and she's reminded of so many things; she remembers how he saved her life when he should have left her behind, she remembers when he held her hand and stayed with her until she fell asleep and even after she pushed him away, in the morning, he still came back to her because he always finds his way back to her.

She remembers that he saved her, when she and Pope should have died – she knows this because Pope told her about it. She remembers when he stayed with her, when she thought that her cancer was back, and how she was with him during and after his operation.

They've been through so much together, too much, and for some reason something so simple as Hal wanting to hold her hand, just as he did before all of this, is too much for Maggie right now.

It's not that she doesn't want this, the closeness that she feels as he holds her hands, because she wants it more than anything else in the world. It's different, after everything. She thought she wouldn't get him back and she has, and it's painful, and it causes her a great deal of agony to remember what he has been through.

He has been through so much, too much, and he could never possibly be the same person again. This is what hurts Maggie, knowing that he can't be who he was. She misses _that_ Hal, her Hal; the Hal Mason who would joke around with his brothers, lead the Second Mass, look out for everyone – the Hal Mason who always had her back, throughout everything.

The honest, the brave, the worthy and golden Hal Mason.

She often found herself feeling empty, lonely, and if she was being entirely honest she found herself feeling this way in her every waking moment.

She missed Hal, she missed who he was, and she missed what they had. She even missed what they could have had.

She remembers him, always; she sees flashes before her eyes, of his smile or his laugh, and she wants to return to the place and she wants to stay there for eternity. She wants these flashes, these memories, to stay with her and as they appear before her eyes she tries to reach out to them, to grasp them and never let them go, but they disappear just as quickly as they appear and before she even realizes it they are gone and there is nothing she can do to get them back.

For a moment, she allows herself to believe that the man sitting next to her is her Hal Mason but she knows that such a thing, right now, is impossible.

Her Hal isn't home yet, he hasn't come back to her.

And this sweet gesture of his, something so simple as Hal wanting to hold her hand, shows her that his heart is still good but that's something that she's always known, something that she's always believed to be true.

"Pope spoke about your boy." Hal states, lowly, slowly meeting her gaze.

She seems reluctant, hesitant, to speak about this to Hal, or to anyone. She doesn't want to talk about it, she doesn't want to think about it, because it's far too painful.

She draws in a long breath.

Hal pauses.

"Henry...?" he asks.

She still stares down at his hand, which is still gently holding hers.

Her silence gives Hal his answer; his name was Henry.

"He's in Charleston, isn't he?" Hal asks.

Maggie simply nods.

"Did I meet him?" he asks, after a moment of complete silence passes between them again.

She lets out slow breath of air before she removes her hand from Hal's, dropping the chain in to his hand.

"I have a shift, Hal." she announces, standing from the log.

He remains expressionless.

"You need to go back to your room." she states, glancing at him once more before she turns away and moves towards where she should be meeting Isaac for their shift.

Isaac had found her, after she had left Hal in her room, and had informed her that he was doing double shifts and that he didn't think it was fair to ask Ben to do double the amount of shifts in the day so he asked Maggie.

He thought she might want to take her mind off of things. He thought it might be good for her. But as he saw her, moving towards him, he knew that he was wrong. She didn't look good. She was struggling. Her eyes were empty, her face was cold and pale.

She didn't speak as she tried to move past him, in the direction of the area they were supposed to patrol.

"Whoa, slow down, speedy." Isaac states, loudly, holding his hands up slightly in the air. "What's wrong?" he asks her.

She tries to step past him, again, but he moves with her again and blocks her path.

"Despite your obvious speediness, I can do this all day." he announces.

She shoots him a look, a glare almost, warning him that it would be best if he didn't do it all day, as he threatened to.

"OR not..." he answers, quickly. "Probably not. I'll probably just do it until you spill about what's wrong and then we can get moving on our patrol." he says.

She stays silent. She lifts her hand up to her hair and pushes it behind her ears, drawing in a long and painful breath of air as she does this.

She releases the breath of air, sighing loudly as she does this.

She tries to step past Isaac, again, but he moves and blocks her path as she thought that he might.

She turns around, pushing her hair back behind her ears again. She sighs, loudly, and then falls silent.

Isaac takes a step to the left and as he does he catches a glimpse of Maggie's face; she's roughly wiping away what he believes are tears from her cheeks. She tries to turn away from him, as she catches his gaze with the corner of her eye.

"Oh, Maggie..." he sighs, as he rests a hand on her shoulder.

She pulls away quickly and angrily.

"Don't." she says, sharply.

Isaac steps towards her, despite that she stepped away because she clearly doesn't want to be comforted.

He tries to pull her towards him, again, so that he might comfort her and embrace her but she steps away again.

Isaac doesn't give up; he doesn't give up because Maggie is his friends and you never give up on friends who you know would never give up on you.

He manages to guide him towards her, but he doesn't manage to do this without a great deal of difficulty because Maggie is a fighter and she will always be a fighter.

Eventually, he manages to put his arms around her shoulders and pull her in to his chest. And he holds her, despite that he knows it isn't what she wants, right now. He does it because he knows that it's what she needs, right now.

She still tries to push him away, to fight him, but for a moment she stops and in this moment Maggie doesn't move, she doesn't fight Isaac, and she doesn't say anything. Neither say a word.

She can't say a word in this moment. She can't speak to Isaac about how she doesn't feel like she has Hal back, even though he has come back. She can't confide, in anyone, about how there are moments when she believes that _he_ has come back to her and that there is still hope but he disappears, like he was never truly there at all, because he doesn't want to be who he was, he doesn't want to come back to her, because he doesn't feel deserving of her or of anyone.

The old Hal returns, bringing a new light, a new hope, and then he disappears and the new Hal, the weakened and broken Hal, takes his place and the light disappears and with no light in this world all is doomed.

* * *

On his return to his room, Hal runs in to Pope.

It takes all of Pope's strength and will to not kill Hal Mason, as he comes across him in the corridor. He contemplates it, considers it, as he rests his hand on his gun.

"You better steer clear of me, bug-boy." Pope warns.

Hal comes to a halt, in front of Pope, and blocks his pathway.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Those crawlies do something to your goddamn ears, too?" he asks, almost growling at Hal as his words come out dark and venomous.

"I'm sorry, about your son." Hal states, remaining impassive as he speaks. "I didn't mean to bring him any pain, or harm, and if I have-"

"Then, I'm going to kill you." Pope counters, quickly. "You know that, right, Mason Junior?" he asks

Hal nods in agreement. "I do. I know." he answers. "I just...I'm sorry. That's all I wanted to say." he adds.

Pope's frown remains on his features; he steps away from Hal, muttering something about kicking Hal's teeth in to his 'alien infested skull' before he disappears entirely.

Hal doesn't care for Pope's words because he knows what he's done, who he is, and he knows what he is guilty of.

* * *

The night fades slowly into the soft morning sky. Hal rests in the armchair, which he'd turned towards the small window, and he watches the sun rising. He watches it like a man who believes, who knows, that it may very well be his last sun rise.

He isn't tired despite that he hasn't slept at all in days. He has no desire to sleep, despite that his body needs to rest, he doesn't want to. He can't rest. He has to stay awake, he has to keep himself focused, because when he closes his eyes the darkness takes him.

And when the darkness takes him, and sleep lulls him, he slips; he loses the memories that he remembers in the day and he forgets that which he tries so desperately to remember.

Maggie never came to visit him.

He didn't expect her to because he knew it was only time before they both realized the truth which was that she deserved better. He didn't want her here because he didn't want to hurt her again, like he had in the afternoon.

He had seen it, in her eyes, as he had held on to her hand; there was such pain, such darkness, and he could never forget that look.

He couldn't forget the image that she had recoiled away from him, like he was a monster, and he knew that he was to blame for her pain. He caused her this pain, this grief and he allowed the darkness to swallow her up just as he allowed it to take his brothers and his father.

He hurt them, he released misery and pain upon them, and he shed their blood and for that he could never forgive himself. He could never be the brother, or the son, that he once was to them.

He could never be the partner that he once was to Maggie. He could never be the partner that she needed or the partner that she deserved, despite how badly he longed to be.

He was undeserving, unworthy, and he deserved to die. He knew this and he accepted his inevitable fate, his inevitable end, because it would come with time and it would take him.

As he watched the moon resting in the sky, surrounded by shining little lights, he wanted to sleep and never wake but he didn't because he couldn't until he knew that Matt was safe.

The sun was soft, as it rose in the morning. It was yellow, and orange, and it was somewhat calming. It released a softness, a gentleness, down on everything that it touched.

Hal draws in a sharp breath as he feels a twinge of pain in back. He shifts, readjusting his body in his chair, before he glances down at his hands which are marked with crimson marks, cuts and stains. He turns his hands over slowly, observing the raw scratches of red against his skin.

As he looks down at his hands, he sees a flash of the past, a haunting and dark past which he knows that he is incapable of escaping but still he tries to desperately escape it. His hands are soon covered with blood, more blood, and in seconds they are dripping with it.

He knows whose blood it is; his hands are covered with his brothers blood, his fathers blood, Maggie's blood, and Billy's blood.

He lifts his hands to his head and as he does he grips it tightly, so that the memories and the flashes will stop but they don't stop because they never do.

"Hal?" a voice calls out.

He drops his hands from his hands and looks up, to see the sun still resting softly in the sky.

The voice was low, and dull, and it echoed through the silent room and he only just managed to hear it.

He lifts his hands to his forehead and quickly wipes the drops of sweat away. His palms are sweaty. His forehead is cold, and calmly, as his shaky fingers brush across it. His breathing is heavier but slower, weaker.

"Hal?" the voice repeats.

He cranes his neck, quickly, but he finds no one else in the room behind him. He sighs in frustration as he stands from the chair. He turns around but, still, all that he finds is emptiness.

All that he has is emptiness, all that he finds is emptiness, and all he deserves is emptiness.

The voice stops, for a moment. It sounds familiar, he is sure he has heard it before, and if he weren't certain such a thing were impossible he would believe that the voice belonged to Matt.

But it wasn't Matt's voice, it couldn't be. Matt wasn't here, with them, yet – but he would be soon.

Hal wants to, he needs to, wait until he sees Matt, until he holds him once more, he just has to hang on until then, until Matt is safe, and then Hal can leave, he can fade away, if he wants to.

Hal returns to his chair, as he is certain that there is no one else here with him, he is certain of his absolute and complete loneliness.

As he closes his eyes, he hears a voice that he recognizes.

"Hal?" Matt calls out.

Hal's eyes open quickly.

"Matt?" Hal calls back, softly, desperately, as he turns around quickly, standing so fast, too fast for the state that his body is in.

Hal finds Matt.

He sees him standing in the doorway, the yellow morning light has slipped through the corridors and fallen softly down upon Matt. It illuminates him, it shows his inner goodness, his purity, his pure heart.

Hal can't form proper sentences at first.

"Ma-I...How-You...You're..." Hal stutters.

Hal moves quickly as is physically possible towards Matt, but he is still unsteady, and slow, on his feet and it takes him a moment to reach his brother.

He can't believe it, that Matt is here with him. He appears well, and safe, and unharmed from the attack and this brings Hal such relief.

"Matt..." Hal exclaims, shakily.

The light becomes brighter as Hal nears Matt, it almost blinds him.

"Matt, you're...How are you here?" Hal asks.

Quickly, Hal continues, "That's not – it's not important."

Hal hesitates before he kneels down, on his right knee, and pulls Matt towards him; he embraces his brother tightly and for a moment he simply holds Matt and he allows himself to feel the love, and concern, which he will always feel for him.

"What's important – I'm just, I'm happy you're here. That's important." Hal whispers, softly, in Matt's ear.

Hal keeps his arms tightly around his brother, not willing to let him go just yet. He continues to hold Matt as closely as he can because he needs this.

"You said you'd protect me." Matt states, accusingly.

Hal lifts his head up, not releasing Matt from his arms, and he tilts his head so that he may look directly at Matt.

"What?" Hal asks, a frown flickering on his face.

"You said you'd come back." Matt says, his eyes filled to the brim with water.

Hal shakes his head, quickly.

"I did, Matt. I did. I'm back." Hal whispers.

"You didn't." Matt answers. "You're a liar." he announces.

Hal slowly drops his hands from Matt's back, resting them hesitantly and carefully on his shoulders.

"You don't mean that, Matt." Hal says, almost pleading with Matt to say that he doesn't mean it.

"You said you'd protect us but you didn't." Matt states, and as those words pass his lips he steps away from Hal.

Now, Hal sees the splatters of crimson on Matt's shirt. He looks down to his own shirt and finds it stained with his brothers blood.

Hal panics. His hands shake, his breathing becomes rapid, uncontrollable, and he finds himself gasping for air as though there is none left.

"Oh, god." Hal cries, loudly and with such a shaky voice. "Matt, you're hurt," Hal says, pulling Matt towards him so he might attempt to inspect his wounds.

"You did this." Matt says, coldly.

Hal shakes his head as he presses his hands against the wound on Matt's stomach, where the bleeding appears to be coming from. He has to stop it, he has to stop the bleeding.

"You're okay, Matt." Hal reassures him. "You're okay. It's okay." he murmurs.

Hal pauses. "Help!" he shouts out. "I need help!" he yells.

"You did this." Matt repeats. "It's too late. You killed me." Matt announces.

Hal won't believe this, he won't listen to it.

"No, no, no." he stutters, quickly. "You're not dead. You're not dead, Matt. I didn't – I didn't kill you. I didn't. You're not. You're fine, Matt, okay? I promise." he whispers, sadly, painfully, as he tries to fight the choking sobs which rise in the back of his throat.

The tears begin to fall on Matt's cheeks, now, as he tries to pull away from Hal. "You promised you'd come home, Dad promised you would. And you didn't. You didn't come back." Matt declares.

"You left me." Matt cries. "You should have been there. You should have saved me," he says. "But you killed me. You stabbed me, Hal, and then you snapped my neck." Matt says.

"I'm here, Matt. You're here." Hal closes his eyes, tightly. "We're right here." he murmurs.

He lifts his hands to his head, harshly, as he tries to determine whether he is in a dream, a haunting, or a reality.

Hal wakes to reality.

A bright, lonely, empty reality.

Hal wakes gasping for air, choking on emptiness, and resting on the floor beneath the window. The frown on his face deepens as he quickly glances down to his hands, which contain no traces of Matt's blood.

He draws in long, sharp breath of air which causes his entire body to shudder. He clenches his jaw together, tightly, as he lowers his head down in to his hands and angrily runs his hands through his hair and down to the back of his neck.

His fingers brush against the cool metal of the spike, at the top of his spine. He runs his fingers over these spikes and for a second, he contemplates tearing the spikes out of his back with his bare hands.

They did this to him, the aliens; they turned him in to a monster, a killer, and they killed him.

Hal lifts his hands from his head and finds them covered with specks of blood. He doesn't attempt to wipe it away because he has become so accustomed to the sight of blood on his hands that he doesn't care anymore.

The aliens have won. Hal is done, he is defeated, and he doesn't care.

* * *

One day, of agonizing and painful waiting, passes before incoming trucks, in the distance, are spotted driving towards the library. All of the fighters gather outside of the hospital, as the trucks move closer.

When Maggie sets her eyes down upon the vehicles, she goes inside and she alerts Hal of this.

They move as quickly as they can, together, towards the front of the hospital. Maggie, mostly, supports Hal physically but as they step outside he insists that he can stand alone.

Despite that she doesn't believe this, completely, she doesn't argue with Hal and she doesn't fight him on it because as soon as she sets her eyes down upon the trucks it is like she becomes frozen, for a second, unable to think or move.

Maggie takes a step away, from the trucks and away from Hal.

Hal doesn't notice this, he doesn't realize that she has pulled away, because he can't lift his eyes off of the trucks. He doesn't lift his eyes away because he still isn't certain if this is all real, or not real. He doesn't know, not with certainty, what is real and what isn't.

Maggie looks up and finds Tom and Anne, standing together holding each others hands tightly, with Ben by their side. She finds Tom searching for someone, searching for Hal. Tom meets Maggie's gaze and she simply nods.

"Hal..." Maggie whispers, returning to his side.

He turns to her, slowly, rigidly, his back hurting as he does.

He simply watches her.

"You should be with your family." Maggie says, gesturing towards where Tom anxiously stands.

Hal turns back to Maggie, quickly, and there is such uncertainty in his eyes.

He looks like he might object but she doesn't let him speak, she won't let him object or fight this. Hal needs his family, he should be with them right now.

"I'll be here." she says, quickly reassuring him.

He listens to her, because he knows that she means well and he knows that she is right. He should be with them, now, as they wait to see Matt return. And he will return, because he has to. Hal can't lose his brother. Hal can't allow Tom to lose another son, or Ben to lose another brother.

Hal won't allow them to lose Matt like they lost him.

Maggie stands alone, in an emptiness she is accustomed to. She wants to turn away, to leave and run as quickly as she can, but she doesn't. She doesn't run because as she glances to her left, she finds Pope standing by her side and for a flickering second she doesn't feel so alone, anymore. This is something that she never believed was possible to feel around Pope.

Pope doesn't look at Maggie and Maggie doesn't look at Pope. They don't talk to each other, they don't acknowledge each other, they simply stand by each other as they await their fates and as they wait, Maggie can't help but hope that fate might throw them one more favour.

* * *

**A/N: Firstly, I want to thank every person who reads my story. It seriously means the world to me. And to those of you who review, you inspire me so much. Thank you, all. I doubt I'll ever be able to thank you enough. Secondly, I apologise for any spelling errors. I hope that there are none but there are probably one or two I missed. Lastly, I'm sorry about the lateness of this update. I struggled a bit with this chapter but I got there in the end, I suppose it was a little bit of writers block.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

**X**


	66. The moment to live and the moment to die

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

Fate should owe them a favour, at least one small favour, but it doesn't feel like they receive one as the civilians begin to step out of the vehicles.

They come out of the vehicles slowly; the children exit first, a lot of them wearing bandages and small cuts and bruises. Some wear slings, and large, thicker bandages. And then the adults begin to come out and they also wear similar bandages, similar markings of pain and injury.

The number of civilians is smaller than it shoulder be, much smaller. Hal notices this immediately, even though there are still some civilians inside the vehicles he knows that the number is too small.

Hal's gazes shifts away from the vehicles and towards Logan, who stands with a hardened expression set on his features.

He finds that Logan is already watching him but this doesn't bother Hal because he believes that they need to keep an eye on him, they need to watch him, and if needed they need to make sure he'll never hurt another person.

Logan and Hal share a silent look, a quick exchange, before Hal gives a slight nod of his head and turns away.

As the crowds move out of the vehicles, Tom casts his eyes quickly but carefully over each person as he continues to search for Matt.

Tom doesn't find Matt, he can't see him anywhere and this ignites a deep fear inside of Tom.

Ben and Hal can't find him either; Ben glances towards Hal, quickly, and there is such fear mirrored in their eyes.

Tom's heart sinks in to his stomach. He feels a part of himself die, as his worst fears slowly begin to seep in and become true, and he knows that he will never get this part of himself back. And then, just as he is about to break, about to crumble entirely, Matt steps off the bus.

His right arm is in sling. His right cheek is covered with a thick bandage, that runs underneath his jaw line. His neck is badly bruised and a small cut runs across his forehead. He seems smaller, more vulnerable, to Tom as he sets his eyes on him.

Tom moves quickly, through the crowd, as the rest of the civilians get off of the bus and move towards their friends, their family, and share smiles and long, tight embraces.

Tom step through the crowd towards Matt and as he nears him, he breaks out in to a run. Tom scoops Matt up, tightly, in to his arms and sighs loudly as he holds his son so closely, as closely as he can.

"Oh, Matt." Tom whispers, crying in relief.

Tom keeps his hands firmly around Matt, holding him so tightly.

"Ouch, Dad, my arm." Matt murmurs, in Tom's ear.

Tom kneels down, setting Matt down on to the ground so he may stand. He pauses before he pulls Matt into another embrace, and this time Tom is more cautious about Matt's arm.

"Oh, Matt. I'm sorry, Matt. I'm so sorry." Tom cries.

He presses several kisses to Matt's forehead before he continues to hold him, tighter than he has ever held him before.

"I'm never letting you go again." Tom promises. "I love you, Matt, I do, so much. I'm sorry." he whispers.

Matt nods, once. "I love you too, Dad, and I don't want to leave again." Matt admits, his voice low and shaky, as his grip on his father tightens. "I don't want to go." Matt adds.

"You're not." Tom assures him, gently, as he strokes Matt's hair and back with his left hand. "You're not going anywhere, no one is." Tom whispers.

"Matt." Ben exclaims, as he reaches his father.

Matt looks up, from where he had previously nestled his head in the crevice of his father's shoulder.

"Ben!" Matt's grin widens.

He pulls away from Tom and wraps his arms, tightly, around Ben's waist. Ben kneels down, so that he may properly hug his little brother.

"It's good to have you back." Ben whispers, in Matt's ear, as they continue to embrace each other.

Tom can't wipe the smile off of his face, despite that he had cried seconds early. He rubs his forehead, quickly, as he glances towards Hal; he finds Hal moving slowly towards them.

He meets his father's gaze with a look in his eyes that Tom can't decipher.

Hal is standing in the background, watching the Mason family reunion from afar, like he isn't a part of this family anymore.

He doesn't want to feel like this, like he isn't part of his own family, but he cannot stop these feelings of isolation, and inadequacy, as they rise up inside of him and consume him.

He's not good enough, he'll never be good enough.

Hal knows that there are civilians missing, the numbers are too small. This means that there are civilians who have died, who have lost their lives, and for that Hal is to blame.

Hal knows that his inevitable end is coming.

"Hal?" Matt calls out.

Matt searches for Hal, for a moment, before he sets his eyes upon Hal. Matt's grin widens. Hal doesn't smile immediately. Instead he frowns as he recalls seeing Matt, stained and dripping with blood.

Matt runs towards Hal, quickly, and as he does he wraps himself tightly around Hal's waist. He holds him tightly, closely, but Hal doesn't move yet. His hands rest by his side. He lifts his empty eyes to meet his fathers.

Tom smiles at Hal and this smile is so happy, yet so sad, and it is so heartbreaking for Hal to see.

Hal blinks quickly, like he is attempting to control his emotions and his feelings. He draws in a breath before he kneels down, slowly.

Despite that he feels such pain, as he kneels down, Hal doesn't let it show. He doesn't moan, in pain, or let out the cry which forms at the back of his throat. He remains impassive until Matt looks him in the eyes.

Hal smiles; the smile is small, and weak, but it is genuine.

He pulls Matt towards him, in to his chest, and rests his hands gently on his back.

"It's good to have you back," Hal murmurs. "So good." he whispers.

"I missed you." Matt says, as he pulls away from Hal.

Hal stands slowly, somehow managing to pretend like he feels no pain by doing such a movement.

Hal ruffles Matt's hair, the small smile still resting on his features. "I missed you too, buddy." he admits, honestly, before he presses a quick kiss to Matt's forehead. "I missed you too." he repeats.

Matt looks from Hal to Ben and then to his father.

Matt says, softly, "We're all together."

"Come here." Tom says.

He steps towards Matt, pulling him towards him so that he may embrace him. Then, he gestures for Ben to join the embrace, and he does slowly. He puts one arm around his father and the other around Matt.

All that's missing is Hal.

Hal is still missing, despite that he is there physically.

He hesitates before he takes slow steps towards his father. Tom puts his arm around Hal's shoulder and pulls him in, tightly. Hal's right hand moves like it might rest against Ben's back but he doesn't because he knows that Ben is repulsed by him.

Hal is aware that Ben doesn't see him as his brother anymore, and he doesn't blame him. Hal understands why Ben feels this way but this doesn't make it any easier for Hal.

"We're all together." Tom whispers, softly, repeating Matt's earlier words.

They aren't without their own bruises, bandages, cuts and scars but they are all here together and that's all that matters right now.

Hal lifts his hand to Ben's back, so that he is also holding him. He forgets his previous thoughts, his wariness to embrace his brother who is repulsed by him, and he holds him.

Hal holds his brothers, and his father, as tightly as he can. He doesn't pull away from their embrace, and they don't pull away from him.

Hal doesn't let go, for a moment, because he needs this, he needs them, he loves them and for a flickering second he wants to stay with them, always, and never let them go.

Maggie remains alone.

She watches as Pope reunites with Benjamin; he embraces him, tightly, and says no words for a long time as holds his son tightly and protectively in his arms.

"Maggie?" she hears a familiar voice asks.

She turns around, quickly, to find Henry standing in front of her.

He wears a few small cuts on his face, and his neck, but apart from that he doesn't physically appear to be badly injured. His skin is much paler, he appears more fragile and more vulnerable, as he stands before her. His eyes seem emptier yet there is something new inside them; there is more fear inside of them.

All that Maggie wants to do is hug him. She wants to comfort him, because he appears frightened, and she wants to tell him everything will be okay but she doesn't.

She doesn't comfort him because as she moves, to take a step forward, she hears Hal's voice taunting her in her mind. She hears his cruel, taunting, haunting words and she can't move.

Henry's heart is gold and hers isn't.

Henry moves towards Maggie, when she continues to stand still.

He wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her, because he needs someone to hug him, to hold him, after everything that he has been through.

Henry holds her tightly, closely, like he is afraid that if he lets go then the aliens will get him.

Maggie is hesitant. She lifts her hands slowly, like she might hold him, but she quickly stops. She draws in a long breath of air before she finally sets her hand down, gently, on to his back.

"Henry," she begins, pausing so she may cough to clear her dry throat. "It's okay." she assures him, with a voice that is as calm as it can be in this moment.

Henry believes her, he already feels calm.

"My dad..." Henry begins, still keeping his arms wrapped tightly around Maggie's waist.

He clings to her because he knows Maggie and he trusts her, he clings to her because he is scared and lonely and he needs to be comforted and cared for.

"Your dad is inside." Maggie murmurs, softly.

She pulls away from his embrace, taking a slight step back.

Henry deserves to be with Joseph because Joseph is his family and you should always be able to rely on your family, and be with them, in your darkest moments.

She leads Henry inside the library and towards the room she knows the Joseph is inside. She pauses before she tells Henry she will enter first, to see if Joseph is sleeping – but she's really checking first to make sure Joseph is still alive and he is.

Maggie finds Joseph resting, with his eyes open, on his bed. His eyes flicker towards her as he catches sight of her. He coughs, several times, to clear his throat.

"_Just_ Maggie." Joseph comments.

Maggie draws in a slight breath.

"There's someone here that wants to see you." Maggie states.

She pauses before she glances towards the open door, which she sees Henry sticking his head in through. She simply nods once, telling him to come inside.

"I'll leave you to it." Maggie murmurs before she abruptly exits the room.

She leaves the two of them because she has to, because they deserve this moment together, because it's for the best.

* * *

A part of Hal knew, in his heart, what was to come.

Even now, as he walked slowly down the corridors behind his dad and Matt, he was aware of what would come, what would occur, and how this would all be over in moments.

Hal glances towards Ben who had, much to Hal's surprise, walked by his side down towards the room which Anne had prepared to treat the civilians.

She had called them in so she could tend to Matt's wounds, most of which appeared minor but they wouldn't know with certainty until Anne assessed them.

Matt enters the room first, followed by Tom and then Ben.

Hal lingers in the doorway.

He leans against the archway, drawing in sharp breath.

Ben notices his brothers hesitation, his indrawn and almost labored breathing, but he says nothing of it.

Ben keeps his eyes firmly set on Matt, who has taken a seat up on one of the tables. Tom stands closely by Matt's side, and also watches him intently and carefully.

"How's your arm feeling, Matt?" Anne asks, softly, as she slowly and carefully removes the sling from around his neck.

Matt shrugs. "It doesn't hurt so much." he admits. "Not at all anymore." he adds.

Ben manages a small smile. "Why are you wearing it, then?" Ben asks.

Matt replies, "Joseph thought it looked funny, out of place. He made me put a sling on and then made me promise to keep it on. I fell on it and it hurt after, but not now."

Tom smiles at this; Joseph did keep care of his boy, even if he thought he didn't.

"Apart from this deep bruising..." Anne begins, slowly turning over Matt's wrist. "Nothing appears broken or fractured." she says.

"No cast?" Matt asks, almost sounding disappointed.

Tom runs his hand through Matt's hair and down to his back, he rubs it soothingly. "No cast." Tom repeats.

"You almost look disappointed, Matt?" Anne asks, smiling softly.

Matt shrugs. "I don't know...I thought it might have been cool." he says.

"Cool?" Ben laughs. "What about a cast is cool? It's heavy and it'll make your arm stink." Ben states.

"You stink." Matt replies, quickly, grinning.

"Do I?" Ben replies, laughing loudly.

"Hal had a cast..." Matt begins. "I remember. I got to sign it and draw on it." Matt admits, looking up towards Hal who remains in the doorway.

He casts his eyes over Hal, finding that he looks different than Matt remembers. He wears more bandages, more bruises and cuts than he did before Matt left.

"You remember?" Matt asks.

Hal can feel all eyes on him, as they wait to see if he remembers, if he is capable of remembering that memory and he does remember it.

Hal smiles and this smile is so genuine that it surprises Tom and causes his own smile to falter.

He believes that Hal's smile is real, that it is true, and this causes Tom's smile to grow.

"Yeah, I remember." Hal answers. "How could I forget?" he asks.

"You remember what I drew on it?" Matt asks, with a much lower voice.

Hal's smile remains.

"You drew a cat." Hal teases, knowing that Matt intended to draw a dog but somehow it turned in to a cat.

Matt's grin widens. "It was a dog!" he exclaims, shifting in his seat.

Anne continues to tend to Matt's minor wounds; she slowly peels off the bandage on his cheek to find only a minor cut on his right cheek, running down to his jaw. After wiping the dry blood away, the cut appears smaller. It isn't deep, only long, and will certainly heal in a few days.

"Let me guess, Joseph bandaged this too?" Anne asks, smiling slightly.

"It was a cat." Hal replies. "You drew whiskers." he adds.

Matt reaches for the sling, which had previously been resting on the table, and he throws it in Hal's direction.

Hal laughs at this; he laughs a long, genuine, laugh.

"Looks like you gotta practice your throwing." Hal states, as the sling falls less than two feet away from Matt.

"Dogs have whiskers, too." Matt answers, quickly.

Hal nods, his face shifting in to a far more serious expression.

"And apparently they have the bodies and faces of cats." Hal states, his grin returning to his face.

Ben looks at Hal, a smile threatening to form on his lips. He speaks to Hal, and as he does he smiles.

"Didn't they call you mittens at school?" Ben teases.

"Ah, mittens." Tom sighs. "I remember those days." Tom smiles.

"No, it was the summer holidays, I didn't see anyone from school and it was just you three who called me that." Hal answers, quickly. "How about we focus on Matt, here, huh?" he suggests.

Anne glances up, briefly, at Hal before she states, "I think we should listen to mittens."

Hal simply shakes his head, the smile still resting on his face as he does this.

"Why don't you stand up, Matt, so I can take a look and see if you have any other bruises or cuts?" Anne suggests.

Matt nods and stands up, Tom remaining closely by his side as he does.

As Ben slowly steps towards Hal, there is an obvious caution and hesitation in his movement.

Hal's smile falters as Ben comes to stand in front of him.

"I don't usually like to say I told you so..." Hal begins.

Ben smiles. "Yes, you do." he counters, quickly.

"I did tell you that he'd be fine," Hal says. "That he'd come back to us and he has." Hal states.

Ben pauses. "You also said I should take care of him..." Ben says, softly, so only Hal will hear.

"I'm still holding you to that." Hal says, the smile disappearing entirely from his face. "To your word." he adds.

Hal lowers his head. "I'm not..." he begins, softly.

His voice is that of a whisper so Ben will be the only person to hear these words.

"Who I was." Hal admits, lifting his eyes to meet his brother's. "I know that." he adds. "And so do you, but Matt...He doesn't have to know." Hal suggests.

Ben sighs.

"He won't hear it from me." he admits. "But, Hal...You can't leave us, you can't walk away." Ben says, and these words surprise Hal, they stun him, they cause him to feel numb.

Never did he think he would hear those words come from his brother.

"I won't walk away from you." Hal answers, honestly, sadly. "But..." he begins. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, or for anything else. I want you to know that. I don't want it. But there's something..." he murmurs.

"What?" Ben asks, frowning slightly.

"There are things..." Hal begins.

Things he needs to tell Ben, words he has to say, things he has to apologize for.

Ben shakes his head. "Don't." he says, sharply.

Ben doesn't need to hear this from Hal, not right now.

"I need to, Ben." Hal answers, and as he speaks he seems to be in physical pain.

He shifts in his stance, readjusting his body so that he is standing, gripping on to the wall.

Ben hesitates. "You don't." he states.

"Okay." Hal sighs, speaking finally.

Hal draws in a long, shaky breath before he murmurs something incoherent and holds out his hand. He'd wanted to hold his brother, to hug him, to be close to him but he knows that Ben doesn't want that closeness, not anymore, and Hal has no intention of pushing him or forcing him in to it.

"Thank you, Ben." Hal states.

Ben's eyes remain locked on his brother's trembling hand.

"For everything." Hal adds.

Ben blinks, quickly, before he pulls Hal in to a tight embrace; he puts his arms around his brother's neck and pulls him towards him, holding him tightly and closely.

Hal closes his eyes as he sets his arms down on to Ben's back. They embrace for a moment before Hal pulls away; he pulls away because he has to, because he needs to, because if he holds his brother anymore than he will be convinced to stay, convinced that they need him, convinced that he is deserving on them.

Hal pats Ben on the shoulder as he steps past him and steps towards his father.

"What was that about?" Tom asks, taking a slight step towards Hal.

Hal pauses. "He felt bad for teasing me." Hal smirks.

Tom is disbelieving of this but he says nothing.

"Uh, Dad..." Hal begins. "You were right." Hal admits.

Tom's expression shifts. "About what?" he asks.

"Everything." Hal answers, after a brief moment of hesitation. "Well, ,most of the time. You're mostly right." he adds.

Tom lifts an eyebrow. "Mostly right?" he asks, a smile spreading on his lips. "I'll take it." he says.

"You, uh..." Hal begins.

Tom lowers his head, slightly, so that he make look directly at Hal. "You okay, Hal?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm just...I'm relieved...Just the thought of Matt..." Hal admits, lowering his gaze and pressing his lips together as he speaks.

"Hey..." Tom says, softly.

He pulls Hal towards him, gently setting his arms around him. "It's okay. We got him back, we're all together." Tom whispers, soothingly, in Hal's ear.

Hal nods, slowly breaking out of the embrace after a moment.

"You gave us all a fright." Hal states, glancing towards Matt who now wears a small, clean bandage on his cheek and one on his forehead.

"Thanks, Anne." Hal says, redirecting his gaze towards Anne. "For taking care of him." he adds.

Anne smiles. "He's going to be perfectly fine." she answers, softly, as she watches Hal carefully.

Hal's smile remains.

"Come here." Hal sighs, pulling Matt towards him.

He embraces him once more and as he does he cannot stop the flickers of the haunting appear before his eyes, the haunting of Matt bleeding, and crying, and as he holds his brother he is relieved that this is his reality, something he believed he would never feel again.

"Where are you going, Hal?" Tom asks, a small frown on his face.

"To see Maggie." Hal answers, softly.

"You'll be right back, though?" Matt asks, speaking quickly.

Hal nods.

"You okay, Hal?" Tom asks; as he speaks his eyes follow Hal, who steps towards the door.

"I'm fine, thanks, Dad." Hal answers, softly.

Hal casts one more slow, long and detailed look over those in the room before he turns away.

He turns away because he has to, he needs to, it's better for them this way and he can walk away knowing that he said goodbye, that he held them once more, and that he thanked them for all they have done for him.

* * *

He finds her in the sunlight, on the roof of the library; she stands on the edge, her soft hair blowing in the wind. He can't see her face but he knows her eyes are closed.

Somehow, Hal made it up here, to the roof. He climbed two sets of stairs, each movement more painful than the last, but he made it up here because of her, because he needed to see her, because she gave him strength, because he needed her.

"Thought I'd find you up here." Hal announces, loudly.

She turns quickly to face him, her expression soft but empty.

Maggie pauses. "Some things never change." she states.

Hal draws in a long breath of air. "Some things do." he murmurs, softly.

She hesitates, contemplating her next words.

"What are you doing up here, Hal?" she asks.

"I could ask you the same thing?" he answers.

Maggie nods. "Or you could avoid my question by asking your own." she replies.

"Sounds familiar." he says.

"Mmm..." she murmurs. "Some things never change." she repeats.

Maggie takes a few steps towards Hal, stopping abruptly as she meets his gaze.

"How's Matt?" she asks.

"He's fine. He's better than fine, he's good." Hal answers. "Few cuts and bruises." he adds.

She nods once, remaining silent.

"And Henry..." Hal begins.

Those words cause Maggie's entire body to straighten up.

"He's here?" Hal asks.

Maggie nods.

"How is he?" he asks.

"Few cuts and bruises." Maggie answers, with a much softer, and lower, voice.

Hal sighs, briefly closing his eyes. "You're right." he admits.

She doesn't respond.

"About some things never changing." Hal states.

He opens his eyes slowly as the words pass his lips. He meets her gaze hesitantly, cautiously, slowly, and he casts a slow look over her.

"I don't want to brag...But I tend to be right." Maggie says, and as she speaks Hal swears he sees a flicker of a smile on her face. "Always." she adds.

"Oh, I know." he replies, quickly, with a small smile on his pale lips.

Hal pauses. "You were right about a lot of things." he admits.

Maggie shifts her head, slightly, to the side. "Like what?" she asks.

"Me." he replies, softly.

"I was right about you?" Maggie questions, not understanding entirely what it is that Hal is saying.

"Not about..." he murmurs. "For." he says, correcting himself.

She was right for him; she was the only person he ever wanted, so badly, and she was the only person who he could see himself being with forever.

But he doesn't have a forever and as long as Maggie is with him, she won't get one either.

Maggie draws in a very long breath of air, which sharp and causes her insides to ache. Her posture straightens up, any possibilities of a smile fade away, and a new emptiness enters her eyes.

"Were?" she asks, dejectedly, because he had told her she was right for him meaning he doesn't feel that she is anymore.

He doesn't think she's right for him, anymore. He doesn't think that they are right for each other anymore – this is what Maggie thinks Hal believes.

But she's wrong, in so many ways.

Maggie has been, and always will be, the only person who is right for him. He just isn't right for her anymore and he knows this, he is aware of it, and as painful as it has been to accept it he has to because when you love someone, when they consume you entirely, you want to give them the best.

Unfortunately, sometimes you aren't what's best for them, despite how badly you long to be. Sometimes, you have to let them go so they can have better, be better, and even though doing so will kill you, crush you, you'll do it because it's for them and you'd do anything for them.

Hal won't crush Maggie, he won't cause her anymore pain, he won't poison her or taint her like a virus. He will let her go, leave her, and this will be his last way to protect her.

"You are." Hal corrects. "You are right for me." he murmurs, purposefully avoiding her gaze. "I mean...You always have been." he adds.

"Hal..." Maggie sighs, softly.

"I know." he answers, quickly.

He knows she doesn't want to hear this, that she doesn't want to hear it, but she needs to hear it and he needs to say it.

"Don't." Maggie says, firmly, loudly, as she takes another step towards him. "You're right for me, Hal, in so many ways I didn't think we're even possible." Maggie admits, allowing her vulnerability to momentarily slip in. "You always have been," she says, repeating Hal's previous words. "You always will be, despite what you think." she adds.

"I thought..." he begins.

"That I'd give up on you?" she asks.

He remains silent, giving Maggie her answer.

"You're wrong, if you think that." she states.

Hal manages a small smile. "And you were right, again." he says. Hal pauses. "Maggie, I...I lo..." he begins, murmuring the words, as he slowly meets her gaze.

His smile fades, entirely, from his features.

He wants to say those three words to her but finds that he can't.

"I lost my watch," he lies. "The one my dad gave me." he adds.

Maggie nods, once, pressing her lips tightly together.

She sighs. "Want me to look around?" she asks.

Hal nods. "If you could look around the trucks, and the log. That would be great." Hal states.

"Okay." Maggie agrees.

He meets her gaze, again, and as he does he wants to hold her, be close to her and kiss her but he doesn't. He simply watches her as she moves towards him, and then she walks past him.

He steps with her, reaching out gently, tenderly, so that he may catch her hand.

She doesn't recoil, she doesn't pull away from his touch.

She looks up in to Hal's eyes.

"Maggie..." he murmurs, softly, gently, sadly. "I need you to know that, uh..." he begins, drawing in a short breath. "I'm sorry." he says.

"No, Hal." she says, firmly.

"You need to hear this." he states.

"You don't need to say this, Hal." Maggie counters, quickly, still holding his hand.

"But I do." he disagrees.

"I don't want to hear it," she states, firmly. "I don't want to hear it because it wasn't you, you didn't do anything wrong. And I'll never believe otherwise. I don't need an apology, Hal. Never. So don't say it." she answers, loudly, before she releases her hand from his.

With one last glance at Hal, Maggie turns away. He stares after her, as she walks away, and as he does he knows that it what's best, for her, but as he tries to convince himself of this he feels an emptiness, inside of him, in the place where Maggie, and his family, used to be.

* * *

"Thanks, for taking care of Matt." Tom says, to Anne, as she finishes packing up her medical supplies.

She smiles. "You know I'd do anything for Matt, and Hal and Ben too." she replies, gently, as she steps towards Tom and gently rubs his arm. "And for you." Anne adds.

She pauses.

"He's okay, Tom." she assures him. "Matt's going to be fine." she smiles.

Anne glances in the direction which Tom is currently staring off at; Matt and Ben are playing, messing around, and joking together. Their smiles and their laughter are contagious.

"So will Hal." Anne adds.

Tom turns towards her, now, and as he does he wears no doubt, no disbelief, but instead he wears hope, optimism, and faith.

"I think...We might be getting him back, Anne." Tom admits, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. "I think we might get him back, slowly. I know, it's going to take time. But that Hal, today...It was our Hal, Anne. Our Hal." Tom says, smiling as he speaks with such light in his eyes.

Anne continues to smile. "We just have to hold faith, stay strong, and support him. I have no doubt he'll come back to us, Tom." she answers, kindly, and soothingly, before she presses a kiss to Tom's lips.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Tom admits, as he lifts his hand to Anne's cheek and rests it there.

He smiles softly at her.

"Luckily for you, I'm not going anywhere." she replies, honestly.

Tom's smile widens. "Good." he whispers, pressing another kiss to her lips. "But I mean it, Anne. I really don't know what I'd do without you, I don't know how I would have made it through these past months..." he admits, with a slightly lower and shakier voice.

"I love you, Tom." Anne whispers. "You will always have me to count on, to rely on, to lean on. Always." she promises, taking his hands and holding them.

Tom takes Anne's hands and presses a kiss to them. "And you'll always have me." he says.

* * *

Hal leaves in search of Anthony and Pope but instead he comes across Dai, who moves down the same corridor as Hal does.

Dai spots Hal and grins at him.

"What's up, brother?" Dai calls out.

"You seen Anthony or Pope?" Hal asks.

Dai frowns slightly. "What business you got with them?" Dai questions, curiously.

Hal pauses. "Wanted to...I don't know, make amends." Hal states, sighing softly as he finishes speaking.

"I don't know what Pope's deal is but Anthony doesn't have anything against you." Dai states, sounding so sure of this as he takes another step towards Hal.

Hal frowns, now. It is a deep and uncertain frown.

"I shot him." Hal says, with a lower voice.

"Dai knows, Dai was there. Dai also spoke to Anthony and he isn't mad." Dai says, smiling as he speaks. His smile falters as he begins, "He understands that you..."

"Had a bug in my head?" Hal says, saying the words which Dai won't.

Dai nods, sadly.

"Well, if you see him – tell him that I'm sorry, because I am. I mean...I'd never do that..." Hal murmurs, slowly lifting his eyes up again.

"Dai knows that." Dai states. "And so does Anthony. But I'll tell him anyway, brother." he says.

Hal grins. "You know only crazy people talk in third person, right?" Hal asks.

Dai grins, wildly, at this, as he remembers Hal saying those exact words to him once before.

"You remember?" he exclaims, sounding so excited by the possibility that Hal remembers.

Hal nods, once.

Dai pulls Hal in to a tight, long embrace. "Always knew it. Dai always knew it." he murmurs, in Hal's ear.

"Knew what?" Hal replies.

"That you'd come back to us, brother. Always knew it." he replies, still smiling.

Dai pulls out of the hug, after a moment, and with a smile he says, "Good to have you home."

Hal returns the smile. "I'll see you." he says, as he takes a step back, away from Dai.

Dai nods. "See you round, brother." he calls back, as he turns away from Hal.

"Dai!" Hal calls out, as he comes to a halt.

Dai quickly turns around. "What's up, brother?" he calls back.

"If you see Maggie, will you tell I'm on patrol with Tector?" Hal asks.

Dai nods, still with a grin set on his features. "Will do, brother. See you!" he exclaims, before he turns around and leaves Hal alone, with his mind and his thoughts.

* * *

Hal returns to his bedroom to find it empty, lit up in an almost golden light. He closes the door behind him and for a moment he considers barricading it shut from the monsters that lurk in his head but he quickly remembers that those monsters, those demons and hauntings, are confined entirely to his mind and not to reality.

He moves towards the bed but hesitates and decides upon resting in the only unbroken armchair in the room. Hal slides down in to it, resting so that he is not leaning against his back too harshly.

His eyelids flutter for a moment before he closes them; he won't sleep because he can't, because he's waiting for someone, but he will rest in these moments and try to remember a memory which might provide him with a flicker moment of hope, or light, or perhaps even love.

It almost feels to Hal like he never felt love, as it feels like such a very long time ago since he allowed himself to feel it, to feel anything. It has been so long, too long, since he has felt anything real, anything that didn't cause him crippling pain.

His mind takes him back to a better time, to a memory which he'd previously forgotten but has now become so clear to him that he feels like his there, reliving each moment, each second.

Hal finds himself in a room lit by a soft, almost white, light. It takes him a minute to recognize where he is and once he realizes he it, he is happy to be back here – and Hal Mason never thought he would feel happiness again.

He remembers it as the room which he and Maggie stayed in, while the Second Mass was at the hospital. They spent over two weeks in that room – these were the two weeks they waited before the mission, to the warehouse, which changed everything.

The image starts off blurry, the memory becomes static, like a television, before it becomes clear and as it does he finds her.

She's lying beside him, resting on her back; her eyes are tightly closed, her body is draped and covered with blankets, her golden curls rest softly by her face, her soft pink lips are pressed together, her pale skin wears many scars and bruises which only make her more beautiful.

He leans in and presses a kiss to her forehead, waking her.

She stirs.

"Good morning." she whispers, her eyes opening slowly.

She smiles at him, softly. Her eyes hold the same vulnerability, the same doubt and fear in them, but there is a light in them, a happiness which he could become accustomed to seeing every day, and every night, for the rest of his life.

"Morning." he answers, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You're still here." she states, sounding like she is incapable of believing that every morning when she wakes up she will find Hal Mason will be beside her.

Hal doesn't blame her for this, for her inability to believe that he will stay around, for her insecurity, for her doubt, her fear, and her vulnerability.

"I told you..." he murmurs, carefully holding her gaze. "Always." he states.

And it's as simple as one word; he'll always be here beside her.

Maggie pauses. "Always is a big commitment." she counters.

"I know." he replies, and that's all that he says because he does know it's a big commitment but it's one that he's willing to make to her.

Hal moves so he's lying on his back, still watching her. Maggie shifts over, towards him, and she leans against his chest and places her arm around his stomach, so that it's resting gently on his back. He lifts his left hand to her golden curls and begins to stroke her hair softly.

She looks up at him. "This...It..." she begins.

"What?" he asks.

"It's too good to be true, to be real." she murmurs, softly.

"It is true and it will always be real." he states, and as he speaks he sounds so sure of this, so certain that what they have is so true, so real, that it will and can survive anything.

Maggie sighs, as she closes her eyes. "We have a shift, Hal." she says.

"What if we didn't?" Hal asks.

Maggie glances up slowly. "What?" she asks.

"What if we didn't?" he repeats.

"We don't live in that kind of world anymore." Maggie replies.

Hal nods. "Oh, I know that. And we still have a shift, I'm just asking..." Hal replies.

"If we didn't have a shift..." Maggie begins, drawing out the words. "You'd probably be playing lacrosse and I'd be smoking pot under the bleachers." Maggie says, a grin spreading on to her features.

Hal grins, at this.

"Hal..." she says, softly.

But as his name is echoed again, in to the darkness, he knows that it is not Maggie who is calling him.

He is cruelly dragged away from the place he so longs to return to. He is returned to an emptiness, a darkness, a haunting reality, an inevitable end.

Hal cranes his neck to find the speaker. He finds Logan, standing in the doorway.

Logan stands still, stiffened, and wears an impassive expression on his hardened features. He says nothing as he catches Hal's gaze but rather nods slightly.

Hal stands from the chair and as he does he finds that his hands are shaking. He ignores this and takes a step towards Logan.

"Where..." Hal begins, but his words get caught in his throat.

"Not here." Logan replies, firmly.

"I can't walk." Hal states, lowly. "Far." he adds.

"Upstairs, then?" Logan suggests, after allowing a moment of silence to pass between the two of them.

Hal simply nods at this and follows Logan towards the door and towards his inevitable end.

* * *

As Maggie sets her eyes down upon Tector, who is walking towards the front doors of the library, she calls out.

"Tector?" she asks, stepping through the open doors and moving towards him.

He glances up to her. "I've been looking for you." he admits.

Maggie frowns as she notices Hal's absence.

"Where's Hal?" Maggie asks.

Now, Tector frowns. "He's not with you?" he asks.

Maggie's frown deepens on her pale features.

"He's not with me." Tector states.

"What?" she asks, loudly. "Hal said you had patrol, together?" Maggie asks.

Tector shakes his head once. "He told me that we had patrol – me and you." Tector replies.

Maggie's eyes shift away from Tector's eyes and down towards his gloved hands, in which she sees Hal's watch in his hand.

"You found Hal's watch?" she asks, glancing up to him.

Tector remains silent.

"Wait..." Maggie begins, picking the watch up to reveal the watch Tom gave Hal, and the coin which Maggie gave Hal, in Tector's hand.

"What the hell, Tector?" Maggie asks, angrily. "Why do you have these?" she asks.

She doesn't understand why Tector has these possessions, and why Hal claimed he lost his watch.

"Hal gave them to me." Tector states, with a much lower tone.

"What?" Maggie asks.

"Hal gave these to me, he asked me to give them to you." Tector says, honestly.

Hal had found him and asked him if he could pass them on to Maggie – his reason for doing this was confusing for Tector but he still agreed to it.

"He said he wanted to give them to you himself but he couldn't." Tector adds.

Maggie begins to panic; he heart beats faster, her eyes dart around in search of Hal, her skin becomes paler and her expressions shifts noticeably.

"Where is he, now?" she asks, hoping, and praying, that Tector might know where Hal is now.

As the realization that Hal may have left the Second Mass dawns upon him, Tector sighs.

"I don't know." he replies, sadly.

* * *

"Captain." Tom begins, as he enters Captain Weaver's room.

Weaver glances up from where he'd previously rested with an empty glass, that was probably held with alcohol, in his hand.

"Come in, Tom." Weaver says, softly, sadly, and with a much lower voice.

"The civilians..." Weaver begins. "The number is smaller, we lost a lot, Tom." he adds. He pauses before he states, "I was informed by a civilian that the majority of those who are missing opted to remain in Charleston."

Tom lifts his head up, quickly. "What?" he asks.

Weaver sighs. "Only the majority, Tom. We lost a few – four..." Weaver admits, sadly, lowering his head.

Tom lifts his hands to his face and keeps them there for a moment. He draws in a long breath which causes his entire body to shudder.

"But, uh...What gets me, Tom, is that we didn't lose them in the attack." Weaver states, causing Tom to drop his hands from his face.

"What?" he asks, a deep frown set in his features.

"The four separated from the civilian group, a day after they left." Weaver admits. "Their bodies were found – their necks had been snapped, Tom. They weren't killed by aliens but by humans, Tom. A human." he adds, with a much darker, much sadder tone.

Tom shakes his head, quickly, as the tears form in his eyes. He chokes on his words.

"It wasn't Hal." Tom states, quickly. "It wasn't. He was with us." he adds.

Weaver nods, a slight frown flickering on his features as he wonders why Tom would assure him, so quickly, that Hal didn't snap their necks.

"I know, Tom. Hal isn't capable of doing that, even with...I know it wasn't Hal." Weaver states.

"If I..." Weaver begins, running his hand over his forehead. "If I hadn't sent them away..." he begins, his voice cracking, becoming softer and weaker.

"You thought it was best," Tom replies, quickly, his face contorted in to an expression of great pain and sadness. "We don't know what's best, in this world, not for ourselves and not for anyone else. All that we can do is try, Dan. That's all we can do. And you tried. This is not your fault, it is not our fault either. The aliens are to blame, it's their fault." Tom says; despite the weariness, the sadness, and the emptiness which rings through his voice he sounds so sure and so certain that they are not to blame.

A moment passes, of silence and an understanding, before Weaver speaks.

"Why?" he asks, sadly. "Why do you think they did it?" Dan asks.

Tom hesitates, as he runs his hand through his hair and down to the back of his neck. "To send a message, maybe? I don't know." he sighs, softly.

"Who?" Weaver asks. "The fish-head...You killed it, they blew the bug up. There's nothing..." he begins.

"Karen is still out there." Tom says, quickly.

Weaver pauses before he says, softly, "We need to stop her, Tom. She was one of us, and it's difficult seeing her...But she's not, not anymore. What she did to you, and I – and Margaret and Hal...She continues to endanger our lives, to cause us pain and suffering, and we can't lose anyone else. We can't."

* * *

Hal moves slowly upstairs, following the invisible trail of footsteps that Logan leaves. He walks quickly, quicker than Hal does, and does not wait for him.

They lost lives, of good, innocent, pure young men and women and so many more lives were injured and someone must pay for this, someone must be found guilty of this – and Logan finds it is appropriate to place this blame, this guilt, on to the tainted shoulders of Hal Mason.

Hal Mason shot two of his fellow fighters with the intention to kill them. Hal Mason choked his brother, with the intention to kill him, and tied him up and left him to die in the forest. Hal Mason orchestrated the movement of the civilians to Charleston and lives were lost on this journey, those who survived will probably never be the same, and for that Logan blames Hal.

He is wary of Hal, he does not and could never trust him. Hal Mason is a betrayer, an enemy, and they cannot know with certainty that he does not have more bugs in his head.

They must end this, he will end it.

He leads Hal towards the farthest room and opens the door; he allows Hal to enter the room first and then he steps inside, closing the door behind him.

This must be done.

Hal moves towards the middle of the room, pausing as he sets his eyes down upon his trembling hands. He reaches in to the pocket of his jacket, causing Logan to draw his own weapons.

Hal holds up his right hand, a sign that he means no harm, as he pulls out a gun with his left hand.

Hal silently extends the gun to Logan, so that he may take it.

Logan frowns, remaining still.

"You can tell them I killed myself." Hal states, coldly and sadly.

Logan hesitates before he holsters his weapon and takes Hal's gun, from his hands. He watches as Hal slowly closes his eyes.

"Make it quick." Hal murmurs, almost pleading, begging, for Logan to make it a quick, painless death.

Logan takes a slow step towards Hal, so that he is aiming the gun at the side of his head, his temple to be exact. He lifts the gun slowly, his fingers set and ready to pull the trigger.

Hal's eyes tighten, his hands clench together in fists, beads of sweat drip off of his forehead and blend in to the soft, unnoticeable tears which fall on to his cheeks as all that he will miss, all that he will leave, plays before his closed eyes.

He still has time, brief, flicking seconds to see these memories.

His mother; she's smiling, tucking him in to bed, placing his favourite toy beside him and pressing a kiss to his head.

_It's okay, sweetheart, _she promised the seven year old boy he once was.

But it was never okay again.

_It's only a nightmare, a dream, it can't hurt you,_ she whispered

But she was so painfully wrong because nightmares can torment you, haunt you, and drive you to the point of insanity.

_I'll be here, when you wake. Okay? I love you, good night,_ she said, softly.

She wasn't there when he woke this morning, or any of the mornings in the past year.

His father appears, next, taking his mother's place. He's smiling down at Hal, brushing his hair off of his face.

_I love you, Hal, always, _his father promises.

But he knows his father could never love him after all that he has done, all that he has become, and all that he is.

He sees Ben taking his first steps, and then Matt. He remembers learning to ride a bike, how his father taught him. He sees his brothers learning how to ride, how to write and how to read.

He sees them all, the five of them, in his parents bed on Christmas Eve; Matt was only a couple of months old, then, and he rests in his father's arms. Ben rests against Tom's chest, Hal lies beside his mother, and he remembers they spent the night that way.

He sees Maggie smiling, laughing, holding his hand tightly, holding on to him closely.

Hal readies himself for his end, the inevitable end.

In the split second that passes a loud, shattering explosion ripples through the air and Hal is engulfed with pain, fire, and a burning sensation and then he is swallowed up entirely and dissolved by complete and absolute darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all. Firstly, I want to thank everyone who reads my story, reviews it, or has it as a favourite or follow. Your continued interest, enthusiasm and support for my story is great and I doubt I'll ever be able to thank you enough. I can't believe I've made it to 66 chapters, I never imagined I could go this far with this story - and there's still so many other places I want to take it, so thank you for sticking around, and reading it. :)**

**I apologise for any spelling errors I may have missed when checking over the document, I hope that they are none.**

**Let me know what you think of this one, I hope you enjoy.**

**P.s I've recently been thinking about the possibility of writing a second Falling Skies story. I've got some ideas which I thought of, that don't really fit in to what else I have planned for Safe and Sound, and it got me excited about writing from the point of the s2 finale with the new aliens as well as Hal's bug and etc. plus some other stuff but I was just wondering what your thoughts on that would be, and if you would be interesting in reading a new story? It wouldn't have anything to do with this one and I'd still be continuing this story at the same time, so two fs stories. What do you think? Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**X**


	67. I would have loved you all my life

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

It started with a bang.

A loud, screeching, shattering bang that unexpectedly bursts through the air.

It was tidal wave of heat, of pressure, of pain, and as it hit Hal he became numb and consumed by darkness.

After it hit, he felt the pain – and he should have been dead, he shouldn't have felt anymore pain, he shouldn't be awake but he was. He woke to a darkness, confused and dazed, until he realized that the darkness was because he was covered, shielded, by wood.

His back aches, he can feel the blood trickling down his spine, his leg stings and feels like it has been set on fire but he can't see anything in this darkness.

He tries to push the barriers which lock him in, trap him and threaten to suffocate him, but he can't.

In these first seconds, he is far beyond the point of confusion.

He is trapped and he doesn't understand how. He is alive and he doesn't understand why. He smells smoke and ashes.

He hears movements, the shifting sounds of objects, and then the barricades which keep him enclosed, suffocate him and trap him, are shifted and a cloud of ash hangs heavy in the room. He glances up with blurry eyes and so he cannot make out the figure which stands before him.

They kneel down and he knows that they are patting his leg, repeatedly, but he can't feel it right now.

He feels numb.

His ears ring. His throat is dry and causes him to cough, repeatedly. He smells a fire, a burning, and tastes blood in the back of his throat.

As seconds pass, his vision returns to normal and he is able to see the room for what it is.

A hole hangs in the ceiling, why this has occurred remains unknown to Hal. The roof has collapsed in, that was what trapped Hal.

He remains uncertain.

He lifts his hand to the side of his head and finds that the skin is torn, and bleeding profusely, but he continues to feel numb.

He attempts to stand but stumbles forward and trips, falling down on to his chest.

He glances up to find Logan, bloodied and dirtied, attempting to remove pieces of the ceiling off of his body. Isaac moves towards him and assists him in standing.

And then, the screeching sound returns and they attempt to take cover but they are thrown across the room as the explosion burst the room. Hal shields himself, lifting his hands over his head, but his hands catch the blast and are burnt, becoming raw and red in seconds.

* * *

When the first explosion hit, Tom was with Anne, holding her tightly. The blast didn't affect them, it didn't hurt them, but it caused the grown to shake, threatened to cause the walls to crumble and the roof to cave in.

Tom had tried to move down the hallway but as he'd stepped out, a second bomb hit and he fell to the ground as the blast threw his body down.

Maggie was searching for Hal when it hit. She had just entered a room on the top floor of the library and had found Pope, alone, inside the room. He had been searching through a bookshelf, in search for something for Benjamin, when it hit.

A third blast hits.

Ben hides underneath a table with Lourdes, they take shelter as they wait for it to pass. They hold hands almost unknowingly as Lourdes begins to pray silently. They wait until they can move and take shelter somewhere else.

Matt cowers underneath a bed with Benjamin by his side. Their eyes are closed tightly, they hold each others hands as they duck at each blast.

The bombs are uncontrollable, unexpected, and they cause multiple fires to start.

The first fire starts in the room which Hal, Isaac and Logan attempt to flee.

The second fire begins outside, catching on the grass beside the library.

The third fire begins upstairs, where the third bomb hit.

It becomes chaotic.

Isaac stands, slowly, finding that Logan is already up; his face is bloodied and cut, just as his arms are, but he doesn't notice this.

Logan also appears to take no notice of the cuts and burns which mark Isaac's body.

"You." Logan says, all but roaring, as he lunges towards Hal's collapsed body. "You did this!" he yells, loudly, and with a hoarse voice.

"WE don't have time." Isaac exclaims, loudly, catching Logan's attention.

Isaac grips at his head, painfully, and releases a long sigh before he moves towards the doorway.

Hal stands slowly and moves, unsteadily and weakly. He doesn't have time to think about this, to determine whether this is real or not, because chances are it is real – he needs to find his family and he needs to save them.

"We need to separate and get the civilians out!" Isaac states, loudly.

A fourth bomb hits.

Hal has the shakes, his body aches, his breathing is heavy and uncontrollable. He can't focus, he can't stand straight and he continues to have flashbacks, reminders, of the painful past and it interferes with his reality, for seconds it becomes his reality, and as he hears the sounds of the bombs hitting, the fiery and echoing blast it leaves in its wake, he has flashbacks of the mechs and the children.

Hal pulls himself back to reality because he has to, because this isn't about him, because he needs to control himself and place the priority, and the safety, of the Second Mass before himself.

Maggie lifts her head up, from where it had rested on the ground, to find that a dusty smoke has filled the air. She coughs, loudly, repeatedly, until she fears she might produce blood and even then she can't stop herself from coughing; the smoke feels like it is inside of her, slowly suffocating her.

Her body aches, burns, and is sore. She was thrown across the room in the blast.

She pushes debris off of her body, ignoring the blood and the pain for now.

She hears a groaning sound and finds Pope but all that she sees is his head and torso; his body, from the waist down, is being crushed, pinned down, by the large bookshelf which he had previously been skimming over in search of a book for his son.

Pope groans, loudly, as he attempts to push the bookshelf off of his body but he does this in vain because his hardest attempts achieve nothing and don't move the shelf at all.

The sound of bullets firing away echoes through the eerily silent air.

It won't be silent for long, it's never silent for long.

Tom fired the first shot.

As he'd tried to help Anne out of the library, to take shelter elsewhere, a skitter had come raging down the corridor. It had tossed Anne carelessly in to the wall and had pinned Tom Mason down. Tom had yelled out for Anne to take cover, she listened, before he shot madly at it until it's corpse fell down, bloodied, on top of him.

The weight of it was crushing and Weaver, who had been moving down the corridor, had dragged Tom out from under the skitter.

Weaver's orders were simple; Anne was to gather all civilians and load them in to the trucks, Tom was to gather all of the fighters and place them around the library, to try and take out skitters and the ships which continued to drop the bombs.

The skitters were coming in, Weaver had told him. Dai had shot and killed one outside, as soon as the firing had started.

They feared what would come, what might come; Karen might come, she might have found them again, and if she were to come back she would surely bring an army of skitters and mechs and Tom feared they wouldn't survive this.

They didn't have any mech bullets.

They didn't have anything to fight the blaze with but it started off small and so, at first, went mostly unnoticed.

"What..." Maggie begins, dryly, her words getting caught in her dry and bloodied throat.

She manages to move, crawl almost, to where Pope lies.

His face is covered with fragments of tiny burns, his arms bleeding also, and still he continues to struggle to free himself.

"That won't work." Maggie coughs.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious." Pope growls, back.

She almost forgot that when Pope feels pain he becomes even more irritated, even more of an ass.

"Stop wasting your damn strength on pushing it," she sharply states. "You're not going to move it." she adds.

Pope scoffs, "Oh yeah, 'cause you're gonna be able to lift it on your lonesome."

Another bomb hits, the fifth one to be dropped.

Maggie and Pope duck simultaneously; she takes cover by placing her head down, flat, on the ground and covering the back of her head with her hands while Pope turns his head as far as he car to the right and shields himself.

When it passes, she stands to find that she is quite unsteady at first. She draws in a quick breath before she casts a long look over the bookshelf.

"Ain't gonna move it," Pope calls out. "An' it ain't worth your time." he adds.

She glances down at Pope.

He looks weak, pale, and she knows that he's running out of time before serious damage is done to his legs.

"If I can lift it high enough, you can pull yourself out." Maggie replies, quickly, as she briefly turns towards the bookshelf so that she may determine what side she should lift it from.

"Save it, Maggie." Pope says, loudly, sadly, and as he says those words he begins to cough. "Leave me and go." he adds. "Consider us even." he suggests.

"Despite that you killed a part of me, Pope, at the start, when we met, you saved me. Count us even, for that." she answers, quickly.

She pauses.

"You ever mention what I just said and I'll drop this damn bookcase back down on top of you and leave you as skitter bait. We clear?" Maggie threatens.

Pope grimaces. "Yes, ma'am."

The sixth bomb hits.

The fires become larger, stronger. The screams and cries of civilians running down hallways together becomes louder., they become emptier, sadder. The sound of bullets firing becomes more frequent, it fades away and soon becomes an almost unnoticeable background noise.

Lourdes and Ben take their chance and run, out of the room and down the hallway. They still hold each others hands, as they run, and in moments they run right in to Anne, who quickly assigns them tasks. Lourdes is to check for injuries that must be treated immediately while Ben is to check the rooms, once more.

Anne repeatedly tells them to be careful and to be safe, before she sends them off.

It takes them a while to organize the vehicles; some of which have been damaged by the bombs. The skitters come towards them in groups, and they have no trouble in killing them, but they expected larger numbers of skitters which they don't receive.

Tector and Dai are tasked with the physical movement of the civilians, as many as can fit on the vehicles, on to the vehicles and then they must drive them away. But the civilians are frantic, panicking, and are not willing to be separated or calmed easily.

They're all running out of time.

The flames upstairs are past the point of control.

Logan continues to search and survey the downstairs rooms and hallways, Isaac and Hal remain upstairs. Isaac takes the rooms of the farther side, leaving Hal the rooms closer to him.

Hal bursts inside a room, as a sixth blast hits and roars loader than any of the previous ones, finding the room shattered and broken. He finds Maggie near the door, leaning over a fallen bookcase, and then he sees Pope.

"Those damn crawlies give you extra strength? 'cause we might need it!" Pope exclaims, loudly.

Maggie appears almost frozen at first, as she casts her eyes quickly over Hal, taking in every detail, every wound, every injury and every blood stain or trail. She frowns as she watches him, as she was so certain, so sure, that he'd left her.

For a second, she appears like she might question him, asking him angrily where he went, but she decides against it because he didn't leave her, he's still here, and they don't have the time to focus on that right now.

"Don't mind him, he's an ass all the time." Maggie states, quickly. She pauses. "I'll get on the other side, Hal, you need to lift it from there." she instructs.

Hal nods.

"How you doing, Pope? Holding on?" Maggie asks, as she moves, as quickly as she can, towards the farther side of the bookcase.

Pope groans. "Honestly? I can't feel a damn thing below my goddamn waist." he replies, lowly.

"On the count of three." Maggie says.

"Or the count of one?" Pope adds in, his voice much lower, much slower.

"One." Hal says.

They lift it on the count of one but they soon find that, together, they are not strong enough to lift it as high as Pope needs to pull himself out.

Pope laughs; it begins as a dry, low laugh before disappearing entirely.

"You can't get out?" Maggie asks; as she speaks real fear slips through.

Her fear is that Pope will die and Benjamin will be left alone, in this world, without a father, a mother, or any siblings to care for him.

"I can't, I can't..." Pope murmurs, breathing heavily. "Guess this is that god damn karma I always heard 'bout." he groans. "Never believed it, myself, but here it is." he murmurs. "Leave it..." he mutters.

"Help!" Hal calls out, loudly.

Pope's frown deepens. "I said leave me," Pope snaps. "You don't owe me anything so go, save yourselves." he adds.

"We need someone!" Hal yells, falling silent as he begins to cough loudly, repeatedly.

The smoke becomes worse, they can barely breathe inside of the library.

The civilians are moved out, as a break in the blasting comes, and they are moved quickly. Anne refuses to get on the bus, despite Tector's reassurance that she should.

Isaac finds civilians upstairs, not trapped by physical obstacles but rather frozen by their fear after what they are experiencing now combined with what they have just experienced with the attack on the civilian vehicles.

Isaac picks the two younger children up and leads the older civilians down the stairs, instructing for them to cover their mouths and not inhale the smoke.

As he exits the library and passes the children towards their parents, he pauses briefly and draws in a long, shaky breath of air as he attempts to steady himself. He is overcome with a quick, brief moment of dizziness. He hears a voice.

A soft, warm, voice which breaks his heart as he hears it.

"Isaac, what are you doing?" he asks.

Isaac freezes physically. He turns, slowly and rigidly, towards the front doors of the library. He sees a figure, a familiar face, a painful reminder but despite that he knows in his heart that what he sees cannot possibly true, he believes for a moment that it is true.

His green eyes catch Isaac.

They torment him, haunt him, but above all they bring him memories of love, happiness, and of a greater, simpler, better time.

"Jon?" Isaac calls out, the simple word coming out jumble, soft and shaky as it passes his lips.

Jon smiles.

"What-what are you doing?" Isaac mumbles. "You can't, you're not..." he murmurs, shaking his head.

"I'm waiting." Jonathon states, simply.

Isaac clutches at his head, briefly, before he abruptly drops his hands to his side.

"You're not here," Isaac states. "You can't be." he adds, sounding less confident.

Jon's smile remains. "I'm waiting." he whispers.

"For what?" Isaac questions.

"For you." he answers.

All Isaac does is close his eyes, needing a moment to calm himself, to convince himself that such a sight could never be true, and as he reopens his eyes he finds that he is entirely alone, watching another building burn.

* * *

Joseph was moving slowly down the hallway when he heard voices calling for help. He wasn't in his best condition but that would never stop him from helping someone else.

He moves towards the door which he believes he hears the voices coming from and opens it; he finds the young man he recognizes as Hal Mason first, and then he sees John Pope, and Maggie. He discards his crutch and limps towards Hal's side, noting immediately that they need assistance in lifting the bookshelf which is crushing Pope's body.

"Great, this is what we need, someone just as sick as you two." Pope groans; despite that he still makes angry, sarcastic comments the color in his face is fading and there is a clear fear in his eyes. "Might as well just shoot me now." Pope murmurs.

"Tempting." Maggie comments, sharply.

She readies herself, despite the pain which almost consumes her aching and worn body entirely, to lift the shelf off of Pope.

They lift it simultaneously, Joseph having a surprising amount of strength considering how weak, and injured, he was on his arrival. Pope manages to slide out, from underneath, and groans as the pain hits him. Maggie moves towards his side, halting only as another bomb hits.

All in the room lower their heads, almost cowering, until it passes because all storms eventually pass.

With Hal's assistance, Maggie manages to, successfully, lift Pope's body off of the floor.

Joseph walks behind them, at a surprisingly quick pace. He needs to get outside to make sure that his boy is safe.

What a sight it is, as they come towards the staircase; most of the upper level of the library is alight with flames, valued and treasured books burning, smoke filling in quickly, a gaping hole in the room which shows that the sky outside is dark, and filled with clouds of ash and smoke which hang heavy in the air. The fire has moved quickly and it won't be long now until it reaches the stairs.

They move down the stairs with surprising ease, amongst the chaos and their burning surroundings.

Logan appears beside them, running towards the front doors of the library with Henry hauled over his shoulder, a hand covering his own mouth to stop himself inhaling the potentially deadly fumes.

"Oh, my boy," Joseph cries.

They can't stop to embrace because they need to get out of the burning building, it could go down in seconds.

They exit the front doors of the library and move out on to the grass to find several bodies of dead skitters, the sky and air filled is now filled with ash and dust, and the civilians have formed large groups outside of the vehicles and are still desperately attempting to get in vehicles.

Logan releases Henry on to the ground and turns towards the hospital – he finds, to his left, the collapsed body of Ronald Wolfram, the body which Isaac and Conor are leaning over.

Logan moves towards the two of them as quickly as he can.

The eighth bomb hits the library, immediately followed by the ninth. The flames explode, moving quickly and angrily through the library like a pack of desperate wolves searching for food.

Isaac glances up towards his brother, not seeing Logan's face but instead seeing his brother Will's face. He closes his eyes, briefly, reopening them to find Logan kneeling beside Ronald's limp body.

"Move him to the vehicles, get him out of here!" Logan orders.

Isaac remains still, for a moment, like he didn't hear a word that was just yelled through the blast. Finally, he stands but he stands slowly, still feeling lightheaded from the blast.

"We need to survey the building once more." Logan states, as he briefly glances towards Conor who is carrying Ronald's body, with the help of Broderick who has just re-joined them, towards the bus.

As Tom sets his eyes upon Hal exiting the library, a rush of relief consumes him and he cannot contain this relief.

"Hal!" Tom cries out, as he rushes towards him.

For a flickering second, he wears relief on his face.

Ben was by Tom's side, as they'd caught sight of Hal, but Ben falters before coming to a complete halt.

"Where's Matt?" Hal asks, noting Matt's absence as he glances between his father and his brother.

"What? He's not with you?" Pope asks, directing his question towards Tom. "MY boy said he was with yours," Pope states, his voice lifting, becoming much louder and angrier. "Where is he, Mason?" he asks.

"I'll recheck the buses." Ben calls out, before he turns and runs as quickly as he can towards the vehicles.

Tom takes a slight step forward and almost falls.

Hal slips out from underneath Pope's arm, leaving Pope to rest entirely on Maggie, as he rushes towards his father.

"You're hurt." Hal states, now seeing the blood which trickles down the right leg of his father's pants.

"It's nothing – we need, we need to find Matt." Tom states.

Anthony takes Pope off of Maggie's hands, dragging his body towards the med bus as all who are wounded have been ordered to be placed on the med bus as Weaver is unsure of how long they will be on the road, and where they are going to, so those need treatment may receive it from Doctor Glass and Lourdes on the bus.

Maggie ushers Joseph and Henry towards the buses, instructing that they don't come back and they promise her they won't.

Four bombs drop, simultaneously, next.

They are unexpected, and they are focused on the ground, the land, outside of the library as the aliens must now be content with the burning building which in moments will become ashes.

All those outside of the library are thrown, backwards, harshly to the ground while being burnt, and injured, by the flames.

They breathe in the ash, and smoke, and ignore the blood which stains them, forgetting about the injuries which weaken them.

Isaac glances up, his vision blurry from the blast, to find his mother standing before him. She smiles at him and extends her hand to him. She's covered in blood, soaking in it.

"Come on, sweet heart." she whispers to him.

He attempts to stand but finds himself weakened and instead, he ends up kneeling on his right knee.

In the next flickering seconds, everything happens so fast that they are unprepared for it.

A sharp cry rings through the air.

Logan's head snaps towards the direction in which it came from; his brother.

Isaac stands for a moment before his eyes roll into the back of his head and he falls; he falls quickly on to the ground, losing consciousness in the seconds before the fall, and his body hits the ground violently. In seconds, he is limp.

A second cry, muffled by flames and a ringing noise in the air, echoes through the air but it doesn't come from Isaac, it comes from inside the hospital.

Hal doesn't hesitate.

He doesn't think about his own wounds, or injuries, and he doesn't consider his own life because he will always put his family and the Second Mass first.

Hal steps away from Tom, and Maggie, and runs towards the library without a second look back.

Maggie is torn, in the next seconds.

She wants to go after Hal but she is stuck, frozen, watching Isaac as he releases a low moan. She pauses, becoming absorbed by painful memories, as she watches his body begin to twitch as hers used to.

And she knows.

Without confirmation, she knows that he has cancer.

Logan drops to his brother's side with trembling hands which are uncertain and unsure of how to help. He moves like he might touch his brother's cheeks, or attempt to wake him, but his eyes are rolled back in his head.

Isaac limps shake violently, he begins to convulse rapidly, uncontrollably.

"Don't!" Maggie shouts out, running towards Isaac.

She forgets about the ships in the sky as she moves towards him.

"Don't touch him, you can't stop it." she states, painfully, sadly.

Logan wants to stop it, he doesn't understand what is happening to his brother.

Isaac's jaw stays tightly clenched together, his teeth tearing at the skin inside of his mouth, his cheek, causing it to bleed and pool up in his mouth.

"What-he" Logan begins, almost stuttering the words.

Maggie kneels down by Isaac's side, watching him sadly.

What comes next almost kills Logan.

Isaac's breathing seems to stop.

The colour of his skin seems to, slowly, shift and fade in to a shade which is almost a pale blue – like he's not getting any air, he can't breathe properly.

"He's NOT breathing!" Logan exclaims, the vulnerability echoing loudly.

Logan's hands shake more now, his breathing is laboured and uncontrollable, as he considers helping his brother.

"Place him on his side," Maggie yells.

Logan does as is instructed and he waits.

Logan wants to help his brother, that's all that he wants, but he finds that he is helpless as he watches his brother fade away in what could be his last moments on this earth.

Hal moves towards the rooms on the left side of the library first, deciding that the cry for help was loud, and sounded close, so it is likely that it came from a room at the front of the library. He finds no one in these rooms and so moves towards the opposite side and sadly, he finds no one.

Hal heard a scream, a cry for help, he knows this and he won't leave until he finds them and saves them because he can't let anyone else die.

He moves towards the main stairs, finding that they are mostly engulfed in flames. He moves quickly, darting for spots on the staircase that have yet to be touched by the fire.

As he comes to stand at the top of the staircase, he finds that it is much worse than it was earlier and wonders how someone is still up here, he wonders why they were left behind.

He moves towards the nearest room and finds it empty.

He hears the cry again.

He turns, quickly, in the direction of the cry and begins running, as quickly and steadily as he can, towards the room.

Perhaps, his adrenaline has kicked in and that's why Hal isn't feeling pain, isn't feeling weak, and finds no limitations as he used to.

He moves towards the first door and attempts to open it, finding quickly that it won't budge. He bangs on the door loudly, as he calls out.

"Anyone in there?" he yells.

"Hal?" Matt calls back.

Hal stops; his heart stops, his body freezes and stiffens up, his breathing comes to a halt.

"Matt?" he screams back, the fear painfully and unmistakeably clear in his voice.

"The door – we can't get to it, it won't open." Matt cries back. "Help, Hal." he yells, loudly.

Hal takes a slight step back, away from the door.

"I'm coming!" he shouts.

Hal attempts to kick the door in, finding that it is still unmovable, unbreakable. The pressure from the heat could be forcing it to remain closed.

He turns towards the room next door and finds the door is open. He draws in a sharp breath before he calls out.

"Are you safe?" Hal calls out.

"We're scared, Hal." Matt replies, quickly, loudly, sounding like he might cry at any moment.

"We?" Hal asks.

"Benjamin." Matt answers.

Hal sees flashes; flickers of the forest, images of Benjamin wearing such a pained and fearful expression, recollections of his cries, his voice, and then of Billy.

"Hal! Help!" Matt cries out.

Matt's voice brings Hal back to this dangerous reality.

He moves in to the next room.

"Can you hear me?" he shouts, over the flames which he has to dart around.

"Yes!" Matt calls back.

Hal desperately searches around the room for an object, something solider, that he might be able to break the door down with. He finds himself losing hope, as his fingers fumble and shake as he searches through doors.

"Come on." Hal murmurs, to himself, as he continues to look frantically through the room.

"Hal! It's burning!" Matt shouts.

"Hang on, buddy, I'm right here." Hal replies, loudly and reassuringly but his voice rings with a fear that he cannot contain or conceal from Matt. "I'm right here, okay? Just hang on, I'm coming." Hal calls back.

Hal turns towards the window and pauses before he picks up a chair and throws it through the window, shattering and removing most of the glass. Hal sticks his head out of the window, which is only just big enough for him to fit through if he squeezes. He finds that a small ledge runs along the library – it is only wide enough for to stand on if you stand on one foot, on your side.

He doesn't hesitate to try to move out through the window, placing his left foot down first. The glass cuts in to his skin, fragments cutting and tearing at pieces of his skin as he slips through the window.

The pain cruelly kicks returns now, as he sets his foot down on to the ledge, and he has to grip on to the sections of the gutter, which he can grasp, with his hands to prevent himself from collapsing. He curses himself for his weakness, in his left knee, but moves on.

He feels like he is walking an incredibly dangerous and high tightrope – and he is. If he slips, if he falls, then he will surely die. No one could survive a fall from this height.

"Hal!" Matt calls out, and it is a more piercing, more shattering, cry now.

"I'm right here, buddy. Step away from the window!" Hal shouts back, as he continues stepping towards the window.

As he nears it, it dawns upon him he has nothing to break it with and he silently curses himself for being so stupid.

"We're away!" Matt shouts back.

While standing with his right foot on the ledge, his left foot slightly in the air, Hal grips on to the gutter with his left hand and raises his right hand. With such force, he pulls back his right fist and then slams it in to the glass. He feels like his hand cracks, like the bones in his fingers shift and crack and disappointingly, only a small crack appears on the window.

"Damn it!" Hal shouts, loudly, angrily, as he fights the anger which rises inside of him.

He tries to hit the window again, smashing it with the back of his fit. He shatters more glass but the hole is not big enough for Hal to fit his fist through, let alone two young boys to fit through.

He releases a loud, aggravated moan before he attempts to shift his body so that he may try something new, something that will hopefully prove to be successful. His failed attempts to break the glass with his fist, which now feels fractured or broken, have given Hal a new idea, a new possibility.

While still gripping on to the gutter with his left hand, and with his feet positioned awkwardly on the ledge, he draws in a small breath before he brings his elbow back – he releases it forward, smashing it harshly and with more strength than he'd used with his fist, in to the glass.

He shatters the glass, with his elbow, and it tears harshly at his skin cutting through the material of his jacket and shredding and tearing at his skin, causing it to not only become raw and to throb but to also bleed profusely.

He doesn't care for the blood, for his own blood. He cares about his brother, and about the safety of the Second Mass. He doesn't care about himself.

Hal sticks his head through the hole in the window; he finds Benjamin and Matt, curled up together, in the furthest corner of the room.

The room is alight with tiny flames, which could at any second become bigger, harsher, and swallow them up. A thick, unkind smoke fills the room.

"Matt, Ben!" Hal shouts.

He pauses as he begins to cough uncontrollably, almost against his will.

"Come on, I'm right here!" Hal yells out.

They move as quickly and carefully as they can towards the window, climbing over desks, their feet never touching the floor.

Hal can never forget, as he sets his eyes upon the two of them, the fear which they are feeling.

"It's okay, I'm right here." Hal assures them, kindly.

Matt reaches the window first, it's only big enough for one person at a time.

"Hal..." Matt begins, shakily, threatening to break out in to a sob.

"I got you, Matt. We gotta get out of here, okay?" Hal says.

Matt nods, quickly, as he reaches out for Hal. Hal stretches inside the window and manages to pick Matt up with his right hand; he lifts him up and pulls him towards the window.

"Set your feet down, on here." Hal says, stepping slightly to the side.

Matt shakes his head.

"You're strong, Matt." Hal states, simply, sounding so sure as he speaks.

Matt doesn't move.

"You trust me, don't you?" Hal asks.

Matt nods, quickly.

"I won't let you fall." Hal says.

Matt believes this, because he will always believe Hal's promises.

He sets his feet down, slowly and shakily, on to the edge – he has far more room to move his feet than Hal does.

Hal instructs Matt to move carefully down towards the next window, slip inside, and then run as fast as he can until he gets outside.

"Benjamin," Hal begins, as he focuses his eyes upon Benjamin who does not move from the table which he stands upon. "Come on, it's okay." Hal says.

Benjamin remains frozen.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Hal shouts. "That person, you think was me – It wasn't." Hal states, loudly, as he becomes more aware of the flames which are growing.

"I'm Hal, I'm me now, okay?" he says.

He receives no answer. Benjamin still fails to move, to blink, or to say a word.

"I'm sorry!" Hal yells out, sadly. "It wasn't me, I wasn't well. But I am now, and now, I'm saving you." he adds.

Hal was ignorant.

He was ignorant to his own pain, his own wounds, and so he was ignorant to the blood which flowed, too easily, from the newly formed wound on his elbow. It pooled beneath his feet and as he attempted to shift himself, to reach inside and pull Benjamin out whether he wanted to come with him or not, Hal slipped.

His boots slipped on the blood he wasn't aware that he'd bled.

He almost falls, he comes so close to it.

He manages to, as he feels himself falling, grip on to the broken window; he grasps on to the shattered, sharp edges of glass which tears harshly at his skin.

He feels the glass cutting at his hands, causing the skin to bleed, and he knows his barely hanging on, he's not strong enough to hold on for much longer and the glass won't hold him for much longer.

Then, he feels two hands; they grip tightly around his right hand and after a few failed attempts, they manage to pull him upwards, so that he may set his feet back down upon the ledge and hold the gutter.

Benjamin managed to pull him up, he saved him from falling.

Without another word, Hal pulls Benjamin out of the room with his right hand and sets him down on to the ledge, as he did with Matt.

He instructs Benjamin on how to move, slowly, and on what window to climb through. Benjamin, with Hal standing closely behind him and reassuring him that he won't fall, climbs through the shattered window first.

As Hal climbs through it, deepening his previous cuts from the same shards of glass, he finds Matt in the room even though Hal had specifically and firmly told Matt to run.

Hal scoops Matt up, placing him over his shoulder, and picks Henry up and places him in a similar position on his shoulder. He shouts at them to cover their mouths, they cover their mouths immediately. He instructs that they close their eyes, they listen and close their eyes.

With his hands placed firmly on Matt's and Benjamin's back, so he won't let them fall, and with their hands clinging tightly on to Hal's body, he runs.

He ignores the pain which consumes him, the throbbing pain which he feels in his head, and the weakness which threatens to take him.

The seizure had passed, that was what Anne had informed Logan of, that was what she believed it was but she couldn't say with certainty until she assessed him, as she had rushed over towards the three of them. They then moved him carefully and slowly to the med bus, as they would have to leave the area in seconds.

Once on the bus, Logan set his brother's limp and weak body down upon a medical bed. He didn't wake, he didn't stir. His mouth opened, slowly, as he was placed upon his back and as it did dark red blood spilled out of his mouth, caused from his teeth tearing at the skin inside his mouth, and this blood trickled down his lips and trailed down his cheeks and neck.

As he watches his brother's broken body, all that Logan can see, all that he can picture, is the young, innocent, healthy and happy boy that he was so many years ago.

Logan remembers a time when he showed his love and his concern for his brother, a time in which Isaac trusted him and loved him because all brothers should love and trust each other. That time was gone and even though he painfully knows that what is gone can never be returned, it can never come back, he wants it back. He wants his brother back.

* * *

Only five remain outside the burning building; Weaver, Anthony, Tom, Maggie and Ben.

Weaver had was adamant that that had to leave as soon as possible, that the bombs would continue to drop and just as Ben has prepared to go inside the library to find Hal, just as Tom has given up hope and is shattered and destroyed, and just as Maggie has lost hope – Hal appears at the open doors of the library.

He's trying to run but he's slower, now. His body moves slowly, rigidly, like he feels a jolting and unbearable pain throughout his body.

His skin is covered with crimson, smeared with dark ash. He limps noticeably. He's injured, he has too many injuries, this much is clear. Matt and Benjamin hang off Hal's shoulders, gripping tightly on to him.

Maggie tries to focus on Hal's injuries, on the blood which splatters and stains his body but she can't.

She sees something else, she sees it first before anyone else has seen it.

And as she sets her eyes upon it, she knows what it has happening and as she meets Hal's gaze she knows that he is also painfully aware of what is happening and what is to come.

A small line of blood trickles down from Hal's eye, out of his eyes, and this trail of blood runs slowly down his cheek.

He moves stiffly down the stairs, somehow managing to hold both Matt and Benjamin despite what is happening, what he knows will come in seconds.

The end is approaching.

"Ben, take them." Hal shouts, weakly and gruffly, and he sets the two of them down on the ground.

Ben runs towards his brothers and picks up Benjamin and Matt, he moves quickly towards the buses but stops as his father embraces him, holding Matt and Benjamin tightly, assuring them that they are fine and that everything is going to be fine.

Maggie moves towards Hal just as he stumbles forward.

He doesn't trip, rather his body gives out on him and he falls down on to his right knee, unable to place any pressure on his left. As he falls, Maggie attempts to catch him.

She reaches him and manages to stop him from falling in to a heap, a mess, on the cold and harsh ground. Maggie sets him down so that he's resting on his right knee, and holding on to her.

Hal grips on to Maggie as he blinks rapidly, the blood continues to spill down his cheek. His entire body shakes, shudders with fear. His hands rest on her hands, holding them tightly.

"I know what's happening and you can fight it. Come on, Hal, you have to fight it." she begs, knowing what could come in seconds.

Hal told her about what happened to Tom, with the bug that they pulled out of his eye and how his father collapsed and bled from the eye.

Hal tries to fight it.

Tom only realizes now, as he glances towards his son kneeling with Maggie. The fear sets in, just as a dark and dooming emotion overcomes and consumes him. Tom becomes paralysed by fear and consumed by darkness.

Hal shifts, his body jerks, but he tries to stay with Maggie, he tries to keep holding on to her hands.

"Look at me, Hal." Maggie instructs.

He's trying but he's rapidly losing control of his own mind, and his own body, again. And knowing that you're losing control but not being able to do anything to stop it is painful.

"Stay with me," she says, lifting her hands up and placing them on his cheeks.

His eyes meet hers.

"Stay with me, Hal. I love you, stay with me." she whispers.

But those three words aren't enough to save him because he can't be saved, he can't fight it and he can't stay with her.

Hal only holds her gaze for a moment longer before his eyes roll back in to his head and he falls down, his body jolts and seizes uncontrollably as the blood spills down his cheek. As much as they want to, as much as they need to, they cannot save him.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! Firstly, I want to apologise for the lateness of this update. My week has just been insanely busy and this is the only free time I've had to come on here. So, I'm sorry and I hope it was worth the wait. Also, I apologise for any spelling errors.**

**Dear guest reviewer; Petrice:  
**Hi, Petrice! Wow, thank you so much. It seriously makes me so happy to read that you've been reading non stop these past days. I am so sorry for the late update, and I hope that the lateness doesn't deter you from reading my story. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. :) Thanks so much, that's so kind of you. I hope you enjoy. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing it! x

**Dear guest reviewer; guest:  
**Thanks for that, I'm sorry to hear you don't like OCs but I intend on keeping them in this story. Thank you, I'm glad you think it's good but not so glad you think that it's slow, but that's your own opinion so thanks for that, feedback is always appreciated and I'll take it into consideration as I plan future chapters. I have quite a few ideas for a new story, which aren't included in this. I guess you'll have to read the new one, when it's on here, to find what's different. Thanks for reading.

**Dear guest reviewer; Victoria:  
**Hi Victoria! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. :) I apologise, it was quite a cliffhanger, wasn't it? And this chapter isn't much better, in regards to cliffhangers. I apologise for the lateness in updates and I hope that you still very much enjoy this chapter. Wow, that's such a lovely compliment. Thank you so much. :) x

**Thanks to everyone who reads my story, I hope that you enjoy this new chapter. I can't thank you enough, I wouldn't have made it to 67 without you so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  
Thanks for reading.**

**X**


	68. Take all that's true

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

After he collapsed on to the ground, convulsing and fitting madly and helplessly, Maggie and Ben had carried Hal's body to the med bus, Tom trailing helplessly behind with Matt in his arms and Benjamin close by Tom's side.

They were instructed by Weaver to board the med bus, as they would be leaving soon. Only three vehicles remained at the library, as they entered the med bus and prepared to leave.

The three vehicles that remain were the med bus, the truck which Captain Weaver would drive in with Anthony, and a Humvee which Broderick Sweeney was in. Broderick didn't have to wait, he didn't have to stay behind, but he stayed because it was the right thing to do until all were safe and out of the burning building.

Maggie and Ben enter the bus first, carrying Hal in their arms. As they entered it, they found it to be cramped and for a moment they were unsure of where to place Hal's body down.

Lourdes appears, quickly, directing them towards one of the last empty beds – she unintentionally guides them towards the bed which Hal was last in, the bed he was chained to and woke dazed and confused in.

As Tom reaches the stairs of the bus, he places Matt down and insists on Matt and Benjamin entering first. Then, Tom glances outside once more before he steps inside.

As he casts his eyes over those on the bus he finds Pope, lying with his eyes weakly closed on the first bed. Pope's legs are bloodied slightly, his neck wears what Tom believes are minor burns, and his right cheek is singed slightly.

His eyes flicker towards Tector, who is stained with blood and appears to be dozing in and out of consciousness.

Tom's eyes shift towards Isaac, who he finds is lying on his back with his eyes closed and his lips parted. Logan hovers over him and appears to not take any notice of anyone around him except his brother, with the exception of Ronald who is lying, with his eyes also closed, on the bed beside Isaac's.

Tector, whose chest and neck are severely bloodied, is currently being carefully and quickly tended to by Anne.

Joseph stands, at the very end of the bus, leaning over Henry who is resting on the long seat. Henry is wearing a mask which Tom recognizes as a non-rebreather mask, used to treat smoke inhalation.

Dai, whose leg had previously been bandaged by Lourdes, limps down shakily towards the front of the bus. He moves silently, not complaining, and as quickly as he can until he reaches the driver's seat. He sits down, starts up the bus, and informs Doctor Glass they'll be moving.

He starts up the bus and begins driving at a quick pace, because they need to get away from here as soon as they possibly can.

Pope's eyes flicker open to find Benjamin, standing silently and frozen at the side of his bed. He pulls himself upwards, breathing deep and shallow breaths of air, before he pulls Benjamin in to quick embrace.

"Are you hurt?" Pope asks, somehow managing to conceal the fear which consumed him at the thought of losing his son.

Benjamin shakes his head. "I'm okay." he admits, while holding his father still.

"You're okay." Pope murmurs, softly, as he keeps his arms around his son for a moment.

But eventually he lets him go, because he has to.

Benjamin is guided down towards the back seat of the bus, where Joseph and Henry sit. He is to be put on the non-rebreather mask after Henry, and then Matt will be placed on it. They only have one non-rebreather mask to treat the smoke inhalation.

Captain Weaver had assured Anne that once they found a suitable hospital, and they would, they would search it for supplies and pass these supplies on to her so she may treat her patients.

She has so many patients to treat, she has to prioritize and deal with those in life threatening situations. But it is difficult to determine which injuries are more severe, more life threatening, as each patients injuries vary.

Starting with the Mason family; Matt inhaled a great deal of smoke and has sustained small cuts, Tom has severed a wound to his leg which Anne has not been able to treat and he will not let her treat until all other patients have been treated, Ben has sustained minor burns to his wrists and elbow, and Hal – Hal stopped jerking, he stopped moving, as they set his body down.

He fell in to a state of unconsciousness similar to how he was after the warehouse.

Maggie stood frozen by his bedside. She didn't move, she didn't appear to breathe, as Ben stood silently by her side. They forget their own wounds, their own injuries and their own pain, as they watched Hal's limp body.

He could have been resting peacefully had it not been for the state he was in.

She believed he was beyond help.

It was a painful truth which she had accepted.

She couldn't fathom how someone could lose such blood and survive.

After a moment of thinking, Anne decided upon a course of action – she assigned Lourdes to Ronald, Isaac and Logan, each of whom had their own injuries.

Joseph volunteered to clean, bandage and tend to Benjamin, Henry's and Matt's wounds, stating that he had experiencing from his career in the military.

Anne would tend to Hal's injuries, clean his wounds and bandage them, while Tom would assist her when needed before she would then tend to Tom's wounds. Ben's wounds were minor, and they would be tended to last.

Anne had wanted Lourdes to see to Maggie, also, but Maggie had refused. She'd simply said no, and that was the end of it. So, Anne had assigned Maggie to Pope, and she had received no objection from Maggie.

Maggie knew how to care for minor injuries, which Pope had sustained, and so she would tend to his wounds whether he wanted her attention, or anyone's attention or care.

Maggie moves to Pope's side immediately, a roll of bandages, a container of ointment, and a few small cloths in her hand. She tends to the burns on his neck first, cleaning them quickly but carefully and then placing the ointment on them. She bandages them slowly, wanting to bandage them correctly so there will be no chanced of infection. She moves towards the small burn on his cheek and after cleaning it and smoothing ointment in to it, she covers it with a bandage.

She leaves him, for a minute, before she returns with three cold compresses. After rolling up Pope's pants, she finds that the most severe bruises rest on his knees and on his ankles which are slightly swollen. Maggie elevates both of his legs, placing pillows underneath them. The places a towel on the bruises before setting down the cold compresses, instructing Pope to leave the compresses on the wounds for around fifteen minutes and then to take them off for ten minutes and then repeat this process, telling him it will help with some pain and will also reduce the swelling. He is administered acetaminophen for the pain and left to rest.

Maggie joins Hal's side next, passing Lourdes who has just finished cleaning, tending to and bandaging Ronald's wounds, who has just woken and appears to be fine.

When Maggie reaches Hal's side, she finds that Anne has cut away the left leg of hits pants and has just finished bandaging the room. He lies on his back, his head resting to the side, still unconscious. Tom has assisted Anne by using a wet cloth to wipe at Hal's bloodied hands, revealing tiny cuts covering each individual finger.

Maggie doesn't ask how she can help, or what she can do next. She doesn't say anything, she can't. Instead, she watches as Anne removes Hal's jacket from his body, and then his green shirt underneath.

He is broken, now. He is bloodied, he is defeated, and he is shattered. Maggie sees this now, it's all that she can see.

Anne decides that they must tend to the wounds on the front of his chest, first, and then they will gently roll him over.

For a second, and only a brief, flickering second, Anne doesn't know where to begin. She quickly decides upon starting with the wounds at the top of his body and working her way down. She moves towards his head and gently turns it to the side, so she may access the wound on the left side of his head; it is a flesh wound which has torn the skin. It appears, from the amount of dry blood which rests on Hal's ear, neck and side of his head, that it bled profusely first.

Anne asks Tom to see to Matt, and Ben, after she assures him repeatedly that there is nothing he can do to help her. He wants to help her, he wants to help Hal, but he can't right now so he will leave Hal and help his other sons however he can.

Maggie steps to the side, so that she's out of the way, but she doesn't lift her eyes away from Hal.

She watches as Anne closely inspects the wound on the left side of his head before she gently cleans it, removing any fragments that she might come across, before she bandages it; she uses a long, roll of bandage and starts by placing it down on the wound. She calls Maggie over, and Maggie comes to help. She instructs Maggie on what to do next; she must wrap the bandage, carefully but securely, around Hal's head, and she does this once before she passes the remainder of the roll to Maggie.

Maggie does as she was asked to, gently lift up Hal's head to roll the bandage around his head. The wound is bad, it is deep, and so it must be properly bandaged and cared for so there are no chances of infection.

Anne glances towards Hal's hands, which are raw and covered with the beginnings of small blisters. The skin is reddened and appears to be swelling slightly, all indicative signs of a second degree burn. She cools the burns with cold compresses, and allows the coldness of these compresses to soothe and reduce the swelling while she continues to tend to his other wounds.

"Done." Maggie announces, as she gently sets Hal's head down on to his pillow.

Anne glances up briefly, from where she had been leaning over Hal's elbow, attempting to inspect the wound and determine if his elbow is fractured or damaged in any way.

"He has several cuts on his neck, and collar bone." Anne states. "Clean them, place antiseptic cream on them and then bandage them with dry, non-stick bandages." she instructs before returning her full attention to his right elbow.

Anne gently wipes away at the blood so that she may view the full extent of the wound on his elbow; the skin is torn, shredded almost, but she decides that the wound does not require treatment and so she cares for it carefully, wiping ointment in to the wound, before bandaging it with a thick, non-stick, dry bandage.

Maggie cleans the dry blood stains from Hal's neck, and his collar bone, before smoothing ointment over the tiny cuts which mark his porcelain skin. She places small bandages on the wound, and she does this carefully but quickly.

Anne returns to the burns on Hal's hands and decides that the will care for them now, as they have rested on them with cool compresses for quite some time. She removes the compresses and covers the burns with sterile gauze bandages, which she loosely wraps around the wound as she does not want to place a large amount of pressure on the burns.

She turns his right hand over, once she has finished bandaging the burns, and assesses his fingers; the skin over his middle finger, right ring finger and pinky is bruised and slightly sunken in, indicating that it is possible that one of his fingers is broken.

With no access to an x-ray machine, she will not be able to determine if there is a break and so Anne does all that she can think to do in this situation – she straps the three fingers together, using a method called neighbour strapping in which the broken knuckle is taped to the finger next to it. She tapes them tightly, and securely, together.

They may only know, when Hal wakes, if his fingers are in fact broken. She is doing this as a precaution if they are.

Maggie and Anne tend to the older wounds on Hal's body, such as the injury to his collarbone, the bullet grazings, the gash on his right eyebrow, the deep cut that still rests on his left cheek and jaw, and the cut which remains on the bridge of his nose. They replace the old bandages with new ones and as Maggie takes a step back, she finds he is almost entirely covered with bandages and that the parts of his body which are bare, which aren't covered with bandages, are bruised darkly.

His chest still wears the dark and horrifying bruises, which have become a much darker shade of purple.

They roll him gently over, on to his side, propping him up with pillows so they may tend to his back. They tend to the minor cuts on his back first, gently wipe the bruises, and replace old bandages with new ones.

Anne moves down towards the two holes, from where the two spikes were removed. She is silently pleased with the progress; he hasn't healed entirely, there is a possibility that the infection could return, but the wound is better than it was when they first found it. She cleans the wound, covers it with ointment, and bandages it.

Maggie is tasked with cleaning the blood off of Hal's back; she wipes at the dry crimson stains carefully, methodically, until each spot of blood is gone and even then she still wipes at his back.

Anne steps in, and cares for the deep cut at the top of Hal's neck. She rolls Hal back over, on to his back, and pulls the blankets up over his body.

"All we can do is wait, Maggie, that's all we can do." Anne says, softly, placing a gentle hand on Maggie's shoulder.

She pauses before she steps away from Maggie and moves towards Tom, who is yet to have his wounds tended to.

An hour passes before Lourdes visits Maggie, and when she does she adamantly insists that she tend to her wounds.

Despite that Maggie believes that her wounds are only minor, she allows Lourdes to treat her; a minor burn on her lower leg and her forehead, which are treated by cleaning them and placing proper bandages on, and a few small cuts scattered over her wrists, neck and shoulders.

After her wounds are treated to, Maggie moves towards the end of Hal's bed and she sits down. She takes a seat and she closes her eyes, gripping tightly on to the pole beside her which keeps her upright.

A moment passes before she opens her eyes and turns to Hal, setting her eyes firmly down upon him. She simply watches him carefully, silently praying that he will make it through this.

But she has doubts because nothing is certain.

All on the bus are appropriately treated for smoke inhalation, and are treated as best as they can be, as well as being treated for any other wounds or injuries sustained in the fire.

Ben's wounds are treated last, as they are the least severe – he received only a few small burns to his wrists and left elbow, which are easily treatable and cared for in seconds.

Anne speaks with Lourdes before she moves towards Isaac's bedside, finding Logan by his brother's side still. They can't know with certainty why Isaac had a seizure, they won't know this until they are able to perform the proper examinations and tests, but Anne and Lourdes have a theory which they are almost entirely sure of.

"Hi, Logan." Anne says, softly.

Logan glances up at Anne, his eyes heavily guarded. "Why isn't he awake?" Logan asks.

"Isaac had a seizure, Logan, and taking in to account the sudden onset of the seizure, as well as his symptoms during and afterward, I believe he suffered a tonic-clonic seizure." Anne admits, with a much softer and lower voice so only Logan will hear her words.

"What is that?" Logan questions.

"The tonic part of the seizure is when the person loses consciousness, their body becomes rigid and they generally release a moan, or a scream, because of the air being expelled from their lungs." Anne says, softly, "And, during the clonic phase, they convulse, their body contracts rapidly. Their eyes roll back, and they often stop breathing."

"I was there, I know that he did – everything you're saying. Why is he still sleeping?" Logan replies, remaining incredibly impassive as he speaks.

"He has cancer." Maggie states, coldly.

Her voice, which is empty, low and filled with a darkness, catches Anne's attention. Logan glances up at her, immediately.

"What did you say?" he asks, taking a slight step towards her.

She remains empty.

"I said, cancer." she repeats, darkly. "When I had the cancer..." she begins, her face shifting in to an expression of repulsion.

"My brother does not have cancer." Logan replies, quickly.

She presses her lips together until her lips become pale, until her cheekbones become more indrawn, more hollow.

When she speaks again, her voice is much lower, much edgier.

"That fit...Let's just say I remember how it felt." Maggie murmurs, holding Logan's gaze only for a second before she redirects it and sets it down upon her own hands. "I remember the look in their eyes..." she mutters, lowly.

"He doesn't have cancer." Logan repeats, turning towards Anne.

"We won't know, until we run further tests." Anne says, glancing briefly at Logan. "When Isaac wakes, we will be able to treat what's wrong with him." she adds. "We just need to give him time, it's all we can do." she says, soothingly.

Tom rests on the seat at the very back of the bus; Matt sits beside him, cuddled up in to his chest, and Ben sits next to Matt. Their eyes occasionally flicker to each other, they speak sometimes, but they mostly remain in a silence that they aren't sure how to fill.

They wait for Hal but he doesn't wake.

It's all painfully familiar, they've been through this before. But this time it's different, this time they have confirmation that there are bugs in Hal's mind.

Tom knows this because of the blood that spilled down Hal's cheek, and the fit he had after the blood trickled down is what Tom went through. But they removed the bug, from Tom, after his fit. They haven't removed the bug from Hal yet, and it hasn't tried to exit his body.

Which means that it's still in there. It means that they never really got their Hal back, he was never home, and they can't know with certainty, they can't know at all, if their Hal is still in there. He could still be controlled, they don't know that he's not being controlled.

Somehow, the bug stayed inside of him. Or, perhaps it wasn't just one bug, but several. That thought never crossed Tom's mind because he didn't allow it to, he didn't want to believe the possibility that there was more than one bug poisoning his son's mind.

Maggie leaves her eyes resting on Hal, on the shadow of the partner she once knew as Hal, as he rests in his bed, his hands down by his side, his eyes closed, his lips parted and his breaths small and shallow.

She wants to take his hand and hold it, as he did for her those months earlier, but she doesn't.

She wants to try to wake him from his rest, because she isn't entirely convinced that he is resting but rather unconscious, but she doesn't. She knows that something is wrong, in his mind.

The blood had seeped out of his eye and travelled slowly down his cheek, and she had been the first one to notice it. Yet, she couldn't save him even though she wanted to, even though she needed to.

It took all of her strength to stay still, to stay seated at the end of his bed, and not move, not break, to not speak or call out to him and beg for him to wake, plead for him to stay with her, cry for all they had lost and all they could have had.

She loved him.

She had finally said those three words, which she had never previously believed in.

Before she met Hal, before he saved her, she didn't believe in the notion of love. She thought it was something only true in stories, that it couldn't possibly exist in the dark world, swirling with pain and a constant numbing emptiness, which she had fallen in to.

She'd never found someone like Hal, before she met him. The men, before Hal, didn't treat her right, they didn't love her, they didn't care for her, most of them probably didn't remember her name.

She never cared for those men, she hated them in the end, but she could never hate Hal.

Even after it all, even after the downfall, the collapse, of everything they had previously stood on and stood for, she could never hate him.

He had the purest heart she had ever known, would ever know, and the kindest soul. He was brave, fearless, and sometimes reckless but he was smart, he was kind, and he was compassionate. He would risk himself, give himself, for the safety of others. He would never knowingly inflict pain on another, unless they were deserving of it like the aliens were.

She hates that they wasted time, she wasted time, pushing him away when she should have been pulling him closer. They were close for a short time but that time feels like so long ago, it almost feels like they were different people in a different lifetime then.

Too much has changed, it could never possibly be the same again. Some things never change, he was right about that. Her feelings for him would never change, falter, or go away.

She had begged him to stay with her, she had declared her love to him, but it wasn't enough to keep him with her, to keep him alive.

Hal continued to breathe, his heart continued to beat, but he wasn't the Hal she knew, the Hal she first met, but somehow she still believed.

There was a part of her that _almost_ didn't believe it, wouldn't believe it, couldn't believe it because there was a part of her that didn't want to believe in Hal, or in herself, or in anything because that part of her had been crushed, beaten, and eventually killed.

He saved her. He wanted her, with all of her flaws and her faults, her secrets and her scars, and she would always want him, for all that he was and all that he could be.

She knew it was Hal, underneath the mask of pain. She had seen it, in his eyes, as she had pleaded for him to fight it because she knew that he was a fighter, he could fight anything.

She recognized the fight, in his eyes, that she had only ever seen in Hal Mason's eyes and she had known that he was still in there.

She sat by him still because she wouldn't let anyone near him, who might hurt him. She would fight for him, kill for him, and die for him if it would protect him or save him from further pain.

He didn't deserve this, the pain that fell upon him and consumed him. He was good, his heart was gold, and he did not deserve the darkness which swallowed him.

She wishes it had taken her instead. She wishes he had never been targeted, that he had never been taken or tortured, she wishes he had never killed. She could deal with it, taking a life. She would rather carry that guilt than have Hal carry it, but he wouldn't share it with her and he wouldn't share it because he believed it to be entirely his, he believed that he was a bad person, a tainted soul, undeserving of forgiveness or redemption.

She understood what he was feeling; the isolation, the fear, the inability to understand how you could be capable of doing such things – the only difference was that Hal was controlled, he did not do these horrible things because he wanted to because he'd never want to.

Maggie's past mistakes were her own fault, her own burden to carry, and she would always carry it because she made those decisions willingly, she was not controlled by an alien but rather by an infectious darkness, an inescapable loneliness, which consumed her as the cancer did.

Hal was her saviour. She never believed it was possible to trust someone, like she trusted Hal, but she did trust him, unquestionably, and this trust would never fade, falter, or change with time. It could not be altered or removed.

She'd feared that he'd left her, when she'd found Tector with his watch, but instead of leaving he'd found her, in the fire. She knows that she should never have doubted Hal Mason, that she should never have believed he would leave her or the Second Mass again because he was stronger than that.

He was stronger than others believed he was, and she always knew he had the strength and the ability to get through this and he would make it through this pain, this dark phase, eventually. He would get through this because he had to, he needed to, and because she needed him to.

"Maggie," Lourdes says, softly, pulling Maggie away from her thoughts of Hal and darkness.

She lifts her gaze, meeting Lourdes', but otherwise stays silent.

"How are you doing?" Lourdes asks, smiling kindly at her.

"Fine." Maggie lies.

"If you need anything for the pain..." Lourdes begins.

"I don't." Maggie answers, sharply, because she's become so accustomed to the pain that no medication, no drugs, truly make it go away.

The drugs, the alcohol and the medication only give you the illusion that the pain is gone but it's always there, lurking beneath, you can't get rid of it despite how badly you long to, fight to, or try to. It stays with you always because, after time passes, it's a part of you that you can't deny and you can't remove.

"Okay." Lourdes nods.

She pauses, slightly, before she continues, "We always have to have faith, even in our darkest moments. It's all that will get us through. I have faith in Hal, he's a fighter, he's strong, like you are, like we all are. We all have to be...He'll make it through this, I know he will, we just have to have faith."

"It's good that you have faith, Lourdes. It is." Maggie nods. "But some of us, we've lost faith and we can't get it back. Maybe, we don't want it back. Maybe, we can't get it back because it was never for us to keep, or to have." she add

"I lost faith too, Maggie, when I lost...I've lost faith, many times, but I keep finding reasons to have it, to hold it, to always believe in it and to always have hope." Lourdes replies, moving her right hand to Maggie's left shoulder as she speaks. "Just try to have hope, to hold faith, it's all we can do." she says, softly, before she pulls away.

Lourdes leaves Maggie with the thought of faith, the idea of hope, and the memory of dark places which once held good people, good memories, and good thoughts. She is left with an even bigger emptiness as she realizes that even if she wanted to have faith, to have hope, and she does want this, she could never.

Nothing in her life has ever been easy, she has lost everyone she has cared about but before she has lost them she hurt them, each, irreparably.

She is not deserving of forgiveness and she is unable to have faith because so many times, she had faith, and hope, that someone would save her but by the time that Hal Mason found her, by the time that he saved her, she was already beyond the point of repair, she'd given up on faith and hope, and she'd already died.

The night soon falls upon them, bringing nothing but silence and emptiness, as those who cannot sleep wait anxiously, or rest in a silent pain which they do not wish to complain about.

They haven't stopped driving since they left the library, those many hours ago, and they will not stop until they are given the order to do so – and they will know when to stop when Weaver's truck, at the front of the line, stops.

Joseph rests his eyes, but doesn't dare sleep, as he holds Henry tightly in his arms. Benjamin sleeps beside him, after Pope insisted that he go to sleep by Benjamin and Joseph's side. Pope didn't want his son to see his wounds, which were continuously being tended to or checked on.

None of the Mason family, with the exception of a still unconscious Hal, could sleep for long. Matt drifted off, frequently, but he often woke up and asked about Hal's condition which had not changed.

Ben answered all of Matt's question, as Tom found himself unable to answer these questions, unable to confront the painful truth that there was still a bug in Hal's mind.

There was no other explanation for the blood which trickled down his face.

Isaac stirs, first. It begins with slow, slightly laboured, breathing before he coughs once, his eyes still tightly closed. His small movements catch the attention of those on the bus who are awake.

Logan's head snaps upwards, at the simple sign of his brother shifting slightly in his bed. His eyes flicker for a moment, like he might open them. He draws in a long breath of air before slowly opening his eyes.

The lights of the bus are dull, and dark, but they are blinding, and overpowering, to Isaac as his eyes open. They blur his eyes, prevent him from seeing his surroundings, at first but soon enough the brightness fades away and the darkness seeps in and he is able to see what is around him.

He finds his brother, leaning over him, and the familiar face of Doctor Glass by his brother's side. They are speaking to him, their faces are marked with concern and worry which is an emotion he never believed he'd see in his brother's eyes, but he doesn't quite hear them at first. His ears ring, his head aches, and he feels weak, drowsy almost.

"What...I..." he begins, slowly, slurring his words almost.

"Isaac, it's okay. You're okay." Anne assures him, softly, but her assurances do little to comfort him.

He wears a noticeable frown on his face, a painful look of absolute confusion.

"Where...I..." Isaac murmurs.

"You're on the med bus." Anne states, softly, smiling at him kindly. "How are you feeling?" she asks him.

"Er, tired." he murmurs in response.

"That's to be expected." Anne begins, but he doesn't listen to the words that follow.

His eyes flicker up towards his brother's, the pain set in on Isaac's face as he does.

"Logan..." he mumbles.

"I'm here." Logan says, speaking with a surprisingly warm tone. "You have to listen to Doctor Glass, answer her questions, so that she can help you." he adds.

Isaac does no reciprocate his brother's warmth, as a flicker, a flash of the past, replays before his mind. He remembers a fragment; he'd entered a room, pushed open the door, to find Logan standing beside a closed eyed Hal Mason with a gun to his head. And Logan had pulled the trigger, just as a blast had exploded outside, and the blast had sent them flying and caused his aim to be off.

"You...You..." Isaac begins, struggling to move so that he is seated.

"Don't try to move, Isaac." Anne gently instructs.

He ignores her.

"You..." he repeats, still holding his brother's gaze.

Logan sighs, softly. "I'm right here, Isaac. Right here." he states.

Isaac shakes his head once, as he ignores Anne's instructions and pulls himself upwards.

"You hurt him." Isaac states, his voice a little louder.

"We didn't hurt him, Isaac. Logan is fine." Anne says, glancing briefly towards Logan who she finds has stiffened up. "You're both going to be fine, we just need to check-" she begins.

"Hal." Isaac states.

Now, he catches Maggie's full attention. She sets her eyes upon Isaac immediately, just as Tom lifts his head up at the mention of his son's name.

"What about Hal?" Anne asks.

Logan simply holds his brother's unwavering gaze for a moment. Then, he slowly lifts his right hand to Isaac's left shoulder and sets it there.

"Brother..." Logan begins, softly.

He doesn't want to speak of this now, not because he isn't willing to face the inevitable confrontation with Tom Mason because he doesn't care for it and he doesn't fear it, he wants to be there for his brother and care for him, ensure that he is properly cared for and that he is not unwell.

"You were..." Isaac begins.

"Why-Why am I here? Why I don't..." Isaac mutters, shifting slightly, his eyes darting the room. "What..." he murmurs.

He sets his eyes down, slowly, on to Hal's unconscious body and as he does, more memories return to him.

"Hal." Isaac murmurs, lowly.

Logan shakes his head. "Brother, we don't have to speak of those things, not now. We have more pressing matters. Your health..." Logan says, with a lowered tone.

Isaac sadly shakes his head.

"What about Hal?" Tom asks, cutting in.

Pope opens his eyes, slowly, from where he had been resting against his pillows. Now, he thinks, it is getting interesting and interesting situations always have the potential to turn into dangerous situation. He watches Logan carefully, and then glances towards Tom to find that he is now standing and has taken several small steps towards Logan.

"This is not your business, Tom Mason." Logan states, simply, sounding exhausted.

"It is my business if it is about my son." Tom counters, quickly, also sounding just as exhausted, just as worn, as Logan.

"You had the gun to his head." Isaac states, his expression almost crumbling as he cannot believe what his brother _almost _did.

His brother almost took another, innocent, human life because he is deluded in believing that Hal Mason is the enemy when the enemy is out there, the enemy has and always will be the alien.

Pope's eyes dart towards Maggie who he sees is still, too still, and he knows that she is only minutes, possibly seconds, from losing it if what Isaac states is true.

"To whose head, Isaac?" Anne asks.

"Hal Mason and I had a deal," Logan states, speaking to Isaac specifically but loud enough so Tom may also hear. "An arrangement." he adds.

"What? That you'd kill him? For what? In exchange for what?" Tom asks; the anger which he feels in this moment cannot be controlled or contained and it slips through in to his voice, which rises significantly.

"That if civilians were to die, because of his actions – and they were his actions, as much as you all desperately try to believe otherwise. And these civilians died, because of his actions." Logan says, turning slowly to face Tom.

"Dad..." Matt calls out, softly, sounding frightened. "What's he talking about?" Matt asks.

"It's nothing, Matt. Nothing." Ben whispers, in an attempt to reassure his little brother.

But Matt is beyond the point of reassurance.

"Did Hal kill someone?" Matt asks, sounding so innocent and so scared as he speaks.

"No, he didn't. He didn't." Tom replies, glancing back at his boys.

Logan sighs, softly, as he holds Tom's gaze.

"But he did, Tom Mason, and your inability to believe so is why we made the deal." Logan states. He pauses, before he begins, "Hal suggested it-"

"Do you really think I'm that stupid to believe that my son came to you and asked you to kill him?" Tom asks, the disbelief ringing though his voice.

Logan pauses before he replies, "How else would I have come across his gun? I didn't take it from him, he gave it to me."

Tom shakes his head, as he remains in a state of complete and utter disbelief.

"You're lying." Tom states, accusingly.

"I was doing what was necessary, what should have been done at the start. I was removing the enemy, the situation, the problem." Logan answers, calmly.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who reads this from the bottom of my heart. Knowing that people enjoy reading this story is so incredible, so thank you. Thank you to the lovely reviewers, I appreciate you more than you know. I apologise for any spelling errors and for the delay.**

**Also, I just wanted to clarify something, just in case it was a bit uncertain. Yes, a part of the bug is still in Hal but that is all I'll say!**

**Dear Guest Reviewer; Victoria; who posted on chapter 67;  
**Hi, Victoria :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I'm so happy you loved it. Wow, thank you for such kind comments. I'm very happy that I'm able to keep you intrigued and it's a huge relief to know that you're loving it. Thanks so much for reading and I hope that you enjoy this one. :) x

**Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy.**

**X**

* * *

My thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes are with all of those who have recently been impacted by the tragedies in Boston and Texas. We are all thinking of you, sending you positive thoughts, and are praying for you. You are resilient, and strong, and you will make it through these difficult times and come out stronger xx

My deepest thoughts and prayers are constantly with you all. xoxo


	69. Forget what I've done

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline)**

* * *

Tom breaks; he breaks because there's almost nothing left to keep him together, he snaps because he won't listen to this man speaking of killing his son as something necessary, something that had to be done. His son was never the problem, he would never be a problem, even if he created the problem – he did this unknowingly, against his will.

Tom reaches for a rifle beside him, on the bench. He takes large steps towards Logan, not allowing any one to stop him or step in his way, and as he reaches him he lifts the rifle and places it directly to Logan's forehead.

"Tom." Anne cries out.

Tom's finger rests on the trigger.

"You fired the gun, didn't you?" Tom asks, loudly, his face becoming redder and the veins on his neck throbbing as he speaks, yells, at Logan. "Didn't you?!" he repeats.

"There's a flesh wound, to his head." Maggie states.

As Pope returns his gaze to Maggie, he finds that she is standing, holding a gun in each of her hands. "A bullet grazing." she says, coldly.

"Maggie..." Tector begins, cautiously, as he slowly slides upwards so that he is sitting on the edge of his bed.

Maggie doesn't appear to breathe, she doesn't move and she doesn't acknowledge Tector. Instead, she keeps her weapons firmly set on Logan.

"He is my son, my boy, even after everything _they_ have done to him." Tom states. "He's been taken away from me too many times, too many god damn times, and you tried – you tried to take my boy away from me again. I should kill you, like you tried to kill him. I should _kill_ you." Tom says; he can't contain himself anymore, he can't stop himself from yelling, shouting, angrily at the man who almost killed his son.

Hal might not be himself right now, he might even be controlled still, but he is still Tom's son and Tom believes that they will find a way, they can find a way, to get him back, even if that way is removing the bug from his mind or waiting until it crawls out, they'll get him back eventually.

"Maggie, you don't want to do this." Tector says, but as he tries to stand from his bed he finds that he can't, and so he is stuck gripping on to the side of his bed as Maggie inches closer to Logan.

"Tom, don't do this." Anne pleads, her voice barely above a whisper, as she inches closer towards Tom. "You don't have to do this." she adds, with a much softer tone.

"I can't let you hurt him." Isaac says, sadly, as he holds Maggie's gaze. "Even after..." he begins, lowly, stopping abruptly and rubbing at his forehead.

Logan continues to hold Tom's unfaltering, hardened gaze.

"If you don't shoot him, Tom, "Maggie begins, her voice much darker, much emptier. Her eyes remain firmly on Logan, and only Logan. "I will." she says.

Pope shrugs his shoulders as he sighs, loudly.

"Well, you know what they say, all is fair in love and war." Pope states, loudly.

"Your son is a killer, Tom Mason. He took the lives of these civilians and he deserves to be held accountable for these crimes, punished for them." Logan states, impassively, coldly, and with no emotion whatsoever in his voice or in his eyes.

Matt jumps up from his seat and tries to run forward, towards his father, but Joseph manages to catch him for a second and wrap his arms around Matt, holding him back.

"It's alright, mate." Joseph whispers, his hands gently holding Matt so he won't run forward into this uncertain situation.

Matt breaks free; he slips out of Joseph's grip, slipping underneath his elbow, and runs towards his father but instead of running towards Tom, he runs at Logan.

"Don't!" Matt shouts, almost crying the word out. "Don't call him a killer, don't lie." Matt shouts, as he runs at Logan.

He shoves him backwards, with as much strength as he can find, and while his efforts are not big enough to hurt Logan he does manage to force him away from Hal's bedside.

"Liar, liar, liar." Matt cries.

As he cries out, that Logan is a liar, Matt continues to push Logan, to shove him, to force him away from his brother, and his family.

Logan shifts slightly, in his stance, and attempts to gently move Matt away as he can see how troubled, how distressed, the young boy is and he never wished to cause him this.

He moves Matt gently to the side, but it is not viewed as a gentle shove by Ben who is up on his feet in half a second. In seconds, he is standing centimeters before Logan.

Ben doesn't care about the repercussions of his actions, he only cares about his family and he won't allow this man to lay a finger on Matt.

Ben's face is empty of any emotion, it is hardened and cold. His anger is clear for all to see, and it is something that they have not been so accustomed to seeing. Usually, Ben is able to keep a grip on his anger, on his emotions, but he can't hold them down now.

"If you call my brother a killer once more," Ben begins, speaking with a dangerously low and dark voice. "I'll break your hand." Ben states.

He pauses, drawing in a long breath of air, before he adds, "And if you touch my brother again, I'll break both of your legs."

"Want to watch who you're threatening, boy." Logan replies, coolly.

Tom lowers his gun completely, as though he has just realized what he was about to do, what he almost did, in front of Matt and Ben. He almost took another life in front of his son's. Tom draws in a long breath of air as he places his gun down, on the bench beside him, before he pulls Matt backwards.

"Come on, Matt. It's okay." Tom whispers, soothingly. "Ben..." he whispers. "Come here." he says.

Ben hesitates before he takes a step away from Logan, his eyes flicker slowly towards his father who he finds is still watching Maggie. She keeps her guns firmly in her hands, her fingers set on the triggers.

"Maggie..." Anne begins, softly. "You don't have to do this." she states, softly, as she edges closer towards Maggie. "You don't have to pull the trigger." she adds.

Maggie stays still, she remains silent and guarded and her fingers remain on the triggers of her guns.

"Maggie," Anne continues. "Hal wouldn't..." she begins.

"Hal wouldn't, what?" Maggie asks, speaking finally, as she turns to meet Anne's gaze.

"Hal wouldn't be alive if Logan had shot straight?" she asks, her voice much colder, much emptier.

"Maggie, put the gun down, love." Joseph calls out, from behind her.

She ignores him, she ignores all on the bus, and keeps her guns firmly positioned on Logan.

"I can't let him get away with that, what he tried to do." Maggie admits, softly.

Lourdes appears by her side, stepping without caution or hesitation. She places a soft hand on Maggie's shoulder, but her automatic reflex is to pull away and so she does.

"Maggie..." Lourdes whispers. "You don't want to do this." she says, softly. "What he did was wrong but Hal's okay and when he wakes, and he will wake, he's going to need you but if you pull that trigger, you won't be here when he wakes." she says.

"Put the guns away, Maggie." Lourdes suggests. "It's going to be fine, everything will be." she promises. "Trust me." she adds.

After noting Maggie's initial reluctance, Lourdes steps closer and she speaks with a softer, lower tone so only Maggie will hear these next words.

"Trust Hal...Trust who you are when you're with him." Lourdes whispers.

And these words are enough. For some reason, they are enough to cause Maggie to, eventually, lower her guns from Logan.

Those few words are enough because Hal has always been enough for her; enough to get her through, to keep her stronger, and enough to keep her going even with the threat of an end, for all of them, nearing.

* * *

The night passes slowly, each second feels as though it drags on for hours. The tension in the bus is beyond high but there is more silence, more emptiness, than anything else. It is rare that words are spoken, and when they are they are whispered softly by Anne or Lourdes tending to a patients wounds or checking in on those on the bus.

Tom manages to convince Matt to sleep; he falls to sleep quickly, but not with ease, with his head buried in to his father's chest. Tom hadn't wanted to sleep, he had wanted to be awake if Hal woke, but Tom was exhausted.

He was beyond the point of absolute exhaustion. Tom was in pain, he was tired, and he was drained physically and emotionally so as sleep came softly, gently lulling him and promising him rest, he wast not able to resist as he'd wanted to.

Despite that he had woke, confused and shouting about his brother's betrayal, Isaac had also allowed sleep to take him. His body was exhausted, he was weak and unable to sit up properly, and his amnesia stayed with him. He complained of a pounding headache, and feeling drowsy and unsteady, and without a word of warning he passed quickly in to a sleep which he could not, and would not, be woken from.

Isaac was ill. Anne knew this, from her brief examination of him. She didn't know what exactly he was ill was, but there was no denying it. He had a seizure, a fit, and that was indicative of a deeper problem. He needed rest, for now, and in the morning when he woke she would tend to him properly and attempt to asses the extent of his illness.

She tended to her other patients easily, with the exception of Hal.

Hal had lost a lot of blood, too much blood. His skin remained the same sickly pale color, his forehead was still trickling with beads of sweat. He was unwell, just as Isaac was. But this was different. Anne didn't understand why Hal was still unconscious; Ben, Maggie and Tom had been vague, about how Hal had fallen unconscious.

It was a shock, to Anne, to see Hal like this. When she compared him with the young man she knew a year earlier, she wouldn't believe it was possible they were the same person.

This man, laying in the hospital bed, was weak. He was feeble, he wasn't a fighter, and he wasn't well. He was struggling. He was covered with bandages, over most of his body. He was almost unrecognizable form the person he once was.

Anne couldn't begin to grasp how truly difficult it must be for Tom to see his son like this, and for Ben and Matt to see their brother like this again.

They had all been through so much that she feared they had almost reached the point of no return, the point in which they would give up, cease fighting, and allow the darkness, the evil, to win.

The darkness shadowed Maggie, followed her, haunted her, tricked her, mocked her, taunted her and consumed her. She felt powerless and alone. She felt helpless, vulnerable, and empty – these things she'd sworn to herself that she would never allow herself to feel again, because she _hated_ feeling like that.

But she couldn't stop it, this time. She couldn't stop the emptiness that crept up as she imagined a life without Hal Mason, a world in which he ceased to exist, and she believed that if such a thing were to occur, if he were to die and she were to remain, she would stop being, living, because without him she didn't exist.

She sits at the end of his bed again, her eyes never waving away from his fragile frame. She tries not to focus on the cuts, the bruises, the scars or the blood but it seems that is all she can think of.

She replays it, continuously, over in her mind; the image of Hal staggering from the library, almost unable to walk, at the point of exhaustion, dripping with blood. She can see the blood trickling down his cheek, the fear in his eyes as he'd grabbed on to her like she was his lifeboat and she would save him, she would stop him from drowning.

But she didn't save him.

She had tried her hardest to save him but her hardest wasn't good enough, because sometimes your hardest isn't good enough.

His body moves, first, before he gives any other signs of consciousness. Hal's right leg twitches, only slightly, and then his fingers twitch, similarly.

She notices this immediately, because she notices everything about Hal Mason. Maggie only wishes that she had been the only one to notice this; she believes Hal needs to rest, to be left alone and untroubled, and while she is aware that such a belief is foolish, and unlikely, she doesn't care.

She doesn't believe that Hal has a bug, in his mind, still. He is still her Hal Mason, he came back to her on the bus those weeks ago.

She knew it, when his eyes opened, that it was Hal; she could see the light, the good, the gold in his soul, in his eyes and in his heart. He didn't come back completely, she doubted he ever would, but he wasn't gone.

Tom notices Hal's movement; he rose, from a restless rest, moments earlier and had been in a small discussion with Anne only a few feet away.

He starts to move slightly in the bed, his breathing becomes faster, but his eyes stay tightly shut.

Maggie slides down, off of the end of the bed, and stands by Hal's bedside like she's expecting him to wake at any given moment.

Tom takes a large step towards Hal's side, glancing briefly back at Ben and Matt as he does; Ben is on his feet, already, but Matt remains asleep by a sleeping Benjamin and Henry.

"I need some room." Anne, softly, states as she moves towards Hal's side.

Tom steps as Anne does, placing his hands gently on her shoulders to stop her from moving to his son's beside.

"We need to take the appropriate precautions." Tom states.

Anne frowns at this.

"Why? Precautions against what, Tom?" she asks.

Tom stays silent.

"Tom?" Anne asks.

"Trust me." Tom insists.

"Trust me, Tom, and tell me what it is I should be taking precautions against." Anne says, almost pleading.

Tom turns away from Anne and towards Hal; he reaches for the straps, so that he may bind Hal's arms to the bed yet again.

"What the hell are you doing, Tom?" Maggie asks, almost unable to contain her disbelief at seeing Tom do such a thing.

"It's a precaution, Maggie." Tom answers, simply, sounding like she should understand.

"He's your son, Tom." Maggie sharply replies. "Don't put those on him." she says, not asking but stating that he should not put those restraints on.

Still, Tom wraps the restraints around Hal's wrists and ankles. Tom doesn't want to do this, doing this is killing, destroying, shattering a small part of him but he knows the truth.

He knows that if Hal wakes and he isn't controlled, by the Overlord, that he still has a bug in his mind and that it may try to come out or they may have to extract it, remove it, like what Anne did to his own bug.

Tom only wants to protect his sons and he feels that by doing this, he is best protecting Hal from what lurks in his mind.

"Precaution for what, Tom?" Anne repeats.

Tom shakes his head once.

"I-Have...Trust me, Anne." he says.

Maggie slips past Tom and begins to remove the restraints from Hal's ankles, first. As she removes the second restraint on his ankle, Tom glances towards her.

"Maggie," Tom sighs. "I don't want to do this, you know I don't want to do this. But it's a precaution." he says.

"Against what, Tom?" Maggie replies, coldly. "He's still your son." she says.

Tom sadly shakes his head. "We don't know that it's all gone." he painfully admits.

"That what's all gone, Tom?" Anne asks, her voice unintentionally rising. "He's my patient, Tom, I have to know the full story to be able to treat him properly." Anne states.

Anne glances between Tom and Maggie, who both remain silent with their lips pressed together.

Ben speaks, because it's what is best for his brother.

"The bug," Ben announces, causing his father's head to snap upwards. "Hal had a fit, like what..." Ben begins, stopping briefly. "The bug isn't gone." he says, with a sadder tone.

Maggie turns away and continues to remove the restraints.

"If you put them on," Maggie continues. "I'll keep removing them." she says.

"The bug is still in his mind?" Anne asks, softly.

Tom can feel all eyes burning in to his skin as he closes his eyes and runs his hands over his face.

"I don't know, Anne. I don't. He fitted, like I did...And the blood, it came from his eyes." Tom murmurs, softly.

Maggie glances up to find Logan watching them, intently.

"Hey," she says.

He looks towards her.

"You don't want to be getting any ideas." Maggie threatens.

Logan sighs.

"He's infected, with a bug, and you're all still fighting for him like he's human?" Logan asks. "Perhaps, the human race is lost after all..." he murmurs.

"Some of us have always been lost," Tom says. "But not all of us are. We're still fighting." Tom adds, softly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Anne asks.

"I didn't think – I couldn't think...I didn't want to let myself believe it." Tom states, softly.

Tom turns towards Maggie, finding that she is standing by Hal's side still and that all of the restraints have been removed from his body.

Tom sighs softly.

"I just want the restraints on as a precaution, when he wakes. We don't know if he's Hal, or if he's not. We can only wait." Tom says.

She shakes her head once.

"I don't understand why you're fighting me on this." Tom sighs.

Maggie straightens up, noticeably.

"I don't understand why you're doing this, Tom. He's your son. He's not the enemy." Maggie replies, sharply.

"It's not your place to say, Maggie." Tom informs her. "It's mine, I'm his father and I want the restraints on as a precaution – not only for us but for Hal, for himself. We don't know if it's Hal. How can we? We don't even know if Hal ever came back!" Tom says, still holding her gaze as he speaks.

"It's not my place to say?" Maggie asks.

She pauses.

"He's my partner, Tom, I get a say." she states.

Tom shakes his head.

"I know Hal, and I know that he was gone those weeks – even though he was still with us. I know that's he's back, It's not controlling him like it was. I know it, Tom, even though you are still blind to it." Maggie says, loudly.

"I know that you're worried, Maggie, but we all are and I can't – " Tom begins, pausing only to sigh softly. "With all due respect, Maggie, you're not part of this family. You don't know my son like I do." Tom says, the words escape his lips before he can take them back.

Tom immediately regrets them; he cares for Maggie, greatly, and he considers the Second Mass to be his second family.

Tom draws in a sharp breath.

"Maggie..." he sighs. "I didn't..." Tom begins, softly, regretfully.

"With all due respect, Tom, I'm the only one who has cared enough to notice that something was wrong with him from the beginning." Maggie, sharply, replies. "I know him. I knew something was different, but no one else noticed. No one else cared. But I'm the one who has no say?" she bites back.

A momentary silence returns, until Pope breaks it.

Pope presses his lips together before he releases a loud sigh.

"Gotta say, something I never believed I would ever say in my whole damn life - " Pope, loudly, begins.

Pope swallows tightly. "I have to agree with Mason," he announces. "Bug-boy put a bullet in me, and Anthony. He put a gun to your head, Maggie-May, or has that conveniently and foolishly been forgotten by you?" he asks. "He should be treated as what he is." he states.

"And what is that?" Maggie asks, coldly.

"A carrier of crawlies." Pope announces, loudly.

Tom begins, "Hal isn't-"

"What?" Pope asks, his eyes locked with Tom's. "He's not a carrier? He's not the reason we've been attacked now, or in the past? Make up your mind, Mason, and quit contradicting yourself. You either think he's your boy or you think he's a spy for the fish heads." Pope replies, sharply. "Can't have it both ways." he murmurs.

"What would you have me do, Pope?" Tom asks.

"Me?" Pope asks. "I'd have you put a god damn bullet in his head, see what falls out. But that's just me." he states, almost growling.

Tom's expression hardens and becomes much colder, much darker.

"You're not going near him, regardless of whether he is my son or not right now." Tom warns, with such a threatening, dark voice that it is clear he will not be letting Pope near Hal.

"I'm not letting you near him." Maggie says.

Tom turns towards her.

"He's my son." Tom sighs.

"You just said, yourself, 'whether he is my son or not.' You're doubting he's your own son, but I don't doubt who he is, I don't doubt that he's still my partner." Maggie counters, quickly.

"We can't know who he is until he wakes, until then I'm restraining him." Tom says, and as he speaks he steps forward.

Maggie doesn't move from Hal's side, she won't move from his side, she won't leave Hal.

"I can't let you do that." she admits.

Tom sadly shakes his head, once.

"You're not going to turn your gun on me, Maggie." Tom says. "We're on the same side, you know that." he says.

"You're right, I won't, but if you put those restraints on I'll keep taking them off. I'm not leaving his side, and if you do then we aren't on the same side, Tom." she answers.

"I understand that you're worried, Maggie, but so am I. We all are." Tom whispers.

"Look..." Tom sighs. "I just want what is best for my boys, that's all I've ever wanted." he says, softly, so only Maggie will hear his words.

"If you put those restraints on, it won't be what's best for Hal." Maggie insists.

"I know it will be." Tom sighs, sadly, the pain building up in his voice as he speaks. "He'd want it that way." Tom states.

"Maggie, why don't you take a seat, somewhere?" Anne suggests. "Or rest?" she asks.

Maggie stays still by Hal's side, her lips stay tightly pressed together, her eyes flicker between Tom and Anne.

"Maggie?" Anne says.

"If he wakes with restraints on, he'll think he's done something wrong." Maggie answers, finally, with a much emptier voice.

"Maggie, you need to take a step back and look at this." Anne suggests; she speaks with a soft, soothing, calm voice. "If this was anyone else, but Hal, would you still be objecting the restraints?" she asks.

Maggie's silence speaks the words that she doesn't; if it was anyone else then she would insist that the restraints be placed on them until they could know with absolute certainty they weren't a threat.

"Let Tom put them on, just for now." Anne says, softly. "Just until we can be certain that Hal won't cause any harm to others, or to himself."

The day creeps up slowly, as they continue moving with no sign of stopping anytime soon. The silence becomes more frequent, those on the bus quickly become accustomed to it and leave it as it is.

Anne and Lourdes tend to all on the bus, visiting them frequently, checking on wounds, bandages, burns, cuts, and levels of pain.

Isaac stirs again, in his bed, as Anne passes him. She stops by his side and watches as his eyes open slowly. His movements catch Ben's attention, as he considers Isaac a good friend, and he straightens up physically as he watches Isaac from his seat at the end of the bus.

Logan stands up, sliding down off of the end of his brother's bed, and glances towards Anne immediately.

Logan's face quickly becomes unreadable, but seconds earlier Anne believed she almost saw fear, swirling with hope, in his eyes. His eyes are empty now. He lets on nothing, shows no indication that he feels anything, as he watches his brother.

Isaac's face is crumpled up, like he has a headache. He tries to sit up but decides against it and instead rests his head back down, on to his pillow. He draws in a sharp breath, his eyes momentarily close as he does.

When his eyes finally open, he sees his brother leaning down, over him.

"Isaac? Isaac, can you hear me?" Logan asks.

Isaac coughs. "Where are we..." he begins, softly.

"We're on the med bus, Isaac." Anne, softly, replies as she appears before Isaac's vision.

His confusion remains with them, but only for another moment, before it slowly passes and the blur which had surrounded him, like fog, disappears and flickers of his memory return.

He remembers blasts, flashes, and he remembers seeing

"Jonathon..." Isaac murmurs.

"It's me, It's Logan." Logan replies.

He doesn't know who Jonathon is, he doesn't know why his brother would be calling out that name, but he doesn't ask.

Isaac shakes his head, once, as he attempts to sit up.

"Take it easy, Isaac." Anne instructs, gently.

Maggie can't lift her eyes away from Isaac, as she stands, frozen almost, against one of the benches. She can't look away, she knows the truth, she believes he also knows the truth.

His frown deepens. "What happened..." Isaac murmurs, glancing around the bus.

"You're okay, Isaac." Anne says, soothingly. "But, I believe you had a seizure which led to you falling unconscious." she says.

"No, no." Isaac shakes his head. "I want to sit up." he murmurs.

Logan, with a surprising gentleness which Isaac has been unknown to these past years, grabs his brother by the arms and repositions him so that he is sitting on the edge of the bed. The blanket falls away, from his chest, revealing patchy, almost lumpy, scars and markings on his chest.

Isaac doesn't care. He has embraced his scars, his wounds, and so he has no need to acknowledge them any more. They are part of him, they always will be.

"What...I..." Logan begins, his eyes moving over the scars he counts on his brother's chest.

"I didn't have a seizure, I didn't." Isaac shakes his head, disbelievingly. "I didn't." he repeats, and as those last words pass his lips he looks up to meet Maggie's gaze.

He holds her gaze briefly before he turns towards his brother.

"I didn't." he repeats.

"I said that." Logan nods, once. "I said you didn't." he states.

Anne sighs, softly. "Isaac, the signs...They all indicate that you did. Your symptoms, during the seizure, are all indicative of a tonic-clonic seizure."

"Why...Why would he have a seizure?" Logan asks.

"I didn't." Isaac insists, his gaze settling down upon his hands.

"Before the seizure, did you feel lightheaded, dizzy, or any sort of mental discomfort?" Anne asks.

Isaac nods once.

"I felt dizzy, from the smoke inhalation." he admits.

"And your vision, was it altered?" Anne questions.

"No." Isaac lies.

She pauses. "Did you hallucinate?" she questions.

Anne receives silence to her question. "Did you hallucinate Jonathon?" she asks.

Maggie stands up. "Anne, that's enough." she says.

Anne slowly turns towards Maggie, a soft but confused expression resting on her worn features.

"I'm sorry, Maggie?" Anne replies.

"I think you should leave it." Maggie says, with a surprising softness.

"He's not well." Anne answers, gently.

"I know. It's-" Maggie begins.

"My concern, Maggie. He's my patient. I know you're concerned but I need to care for him." Anne replies, glancing back towards Isaac as she speaks.

Logan sighs.

"If he had a seizure, what would the cause be? Cancer?" Logan asks.

"I believe so." Anne says. "Isaac?" she turns to him.

He gives her more silence.

"Isaac?" she repeats before she sighs.

"I can't treat you if you're keeping something from me." Anne states.

"I'm not." Isaac answers.

"What is it?" Anne questions, because she knows that there is more to it.

"It's not..." Isaac murmurs, his eyes still resting on his own hands.

"What? What are you – My brother doesn't have cancer." Logan says, quickly. "Isaac?" he says, almost begging for reassurance.

Isaac swallows tightly.

"You...What- That's not possible." Logan states, sounding so sure, as he shakes his head. "How could you know, if you did?" Logan asks. "You couldn't. We don't have the equipment." he says, still not willing to even consider the possibility.

Anne gently speaks.

"You found out before the invasion?" she asks.

Isaac simply nods.

"What type of cancer?" she questions.

"When?" Logan asks.

"Meningioma.." Isaac murmurs, softly, as he slowly meets her gaze.

"When?" Logan repeats.

"Before." Isaac, finally, addresses his brother's question.

"What-" Logan begins.

"Mom and Dad, they knew." Isaac admits. "They took me, after I found out." he says.

Maggie steps away from them; she turns her back, slowly, and allows her gaze to shift towards the floor. She moves towards the end of Hal's bed and grips on to the pole, holding it tightly as she closes her eyes briefly. She releases her grip of the pole and leans her back against it, drawing in a sharp breath.

She cannot prevent the reminders of her past, of her learning that she had cancer, returning and so to avoid them, to forget them entirely, she looks upon Hal and finds him sleeping. When she thinks of Hal, while she thinks of him, she tries to think of nothing else.

"And Jonathon?" Anne asks.

Isaac doesn't want to speak about this, with anyone.

"Is not relevant to this conversation." Isaac, finally, replies.

Anne glances briefly towards Lourdes, who has been intently listening to the conversation.

"Where is it located?" Anne asks.

"Er, I don't...It was located...Parafalcine?" Isaac says, because that's what he remembers the doctor saying.

But he had been so numb that he'd barely heard a word.

"What is that?" Isaac asks.

"I believe, Isaac has tumor located in the frontal lobe and the falx, of the brain." Anne, softly, replies so only the two brothers will hear.

"It's Benign. The doctor was able to remove parts, but he wasn't able to..." Isaac halts.

The doctor had told him there was a very low chance it would spread any further, and that it couldn't do any real damage, any real harm, and that if he had regularly check ups then it could be controlled.

"Could we get a moment, Doctor Glass?" Logan asks, with a surprisingly calm voice.

Isaac shakes his head once. "We don't need one." Isaac states.

Logan quickly turns towards him. "Isaac.." he murmurs.

"We don't need one." Isaac insists.

"Isaac..." Logan sighs, watching Isaac intently as he speaks. "I just want..." he begins.

"But I don't, Logan." Isaac quickly replies. "I don't want it. We don't need it." he says, before he shifts his gaze away from his brothers.

* * *

Tom had been watching, Maggie, silently from where she sat at the end of the only empty bed of the bus for quite some time before he had decided upon talking to her.

He stood slowly, and took even slower steps, but kept his eyes on her.

She was purposefully looking away, looking directly at Hal and only Hal. Even when Lourdes had come over, to check on Maggie and offer her food and water, she hadn't lifted her eyes away from Hal.

She had refused the food and water, because she wasn't hunger, and she had refused to sleep and instead opted to sit on the empty bed.

"What do you want, Tom?" she asks, without glancing towards him.

"I was hoping we could talk." Tom admits, with a voice so low only she will hear.

"So, talk." she answers.

"Maggie..." Tom sighs. "I was out of line, earlier. Completely out of line and I'm sorry. I just...If I'm honest, I'm struggling. I don't know what I'm doing, or saying, but all I do know is that I want to protect my sons. That's all I've ever wanted to do and yet, it seems all I can do is fail at it." he admits, with a raw and vulnerable voice.

She turns towards him.

"You know, what, Tom – I get it. Hal's your son. You have a bond, an unquestionabe one that doesn't need words. I get it. You know what's best for him, you're his father, how could you not know what he needs? It's your instinct." she answers, with a tone which is painfully sad.

"I'm sorry, Maggie." Tom whispers, softly, as he continues to watch her.

She shakes her head once.

"You don't have to apologize, Tom. You really don't have to." Maggie insists.

Still, Tom continues.

"I was wrong, when I said you weren't part of this family, my family." Tom softly begins.

"No." Maggie says, sharply. "Don't say that, Tom, because I'm not. I know it and you know it to." she says.

"Maggie, please, don't put words in my mouth." Tom softly pleads.

"I'm not, Tom." she answers. "But I'm not part of your family and that's okay with me. I don't care, Tom. I had my own family, once, and they're gone and to be honest I'm not interested in finding a new one. I don't want to be part of a family." she sharply replies.

"Maggie, will you just listen – You're family to Hal, you're family to me, okay? You are. Whether you want to be or not. I was out of line, I didn't mean what I said. I'm terrified of losing my son, of what's happening in his head and I regret what I said. If I could take the words back I would because I was wrong. I see you as family, part of the Mason family. In my eyes, you are." Tom admits.

He pauses, drawing in a sharp, long, almost painful breath of air.

"Maggie..." he says, softly, kindly, as he places a gentle hand on her shoulder.

He leans in closer so he will be certain she will only hear his words.

"You were pregnant with H-" Tom begins.

"Tom." she snaps, sharply. "Don't." she says, almost warning him.

Maggie blinks quickly, hot tears burn her eyes but she doesn't cry. She clenches her jaw tightly together

"Don't." she repeats, shaking her head quickly. "We are done here, Tom." she warns. "And I am not part of your family." she snaps.

"You don't have to do this alone, Maggie. You never had to." Tom insists, as he stays close by her side.

She believes differently.

"I've always had to do it alone, Tom, and it's always going to be that way." she counters, quickly.

"You're afraid, you're feeling pain because you don't want to admit you've found somewhere you belong." Tom states. "But you do belong here with Hal, with us. You always have." he says.

She is still disbelieving.

"We don't belong anywhere," she answers. "Belonging is just a concept created by the insecure who need somewhere or someone to feel accepted and secure with. It isn't real." she replies.

Tom sighs, loudly, before he says, "Trust me, Maggie, when I say you belong with us. But if you can' trust me, if you can't believe that you're part of this family, then I don't know what else I can say."

She shakes her head. "There's nothing to be said."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story, it means very much to me just as the lovely reviews do.  
I apologise for the lateness of this chapter just as I apologise for any grammatical mistakes or errors.**

**Dear Guest reviewer; Victoria; who posted on chapter 68:  
**Hi, Victoria! :) Thank you very much for reading and reviewing my story, it truly means so much to me so thank you. I do try to put in as much effort that I possibly can into each detail of this story and I do try to update as regularly as I can - I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. I am so relieved and happy to read that you love my writing style, thank you so much for such a kind comment. Tom's reaction about how Hal wanted to die will definitely play out in this chapter BUT will be bigger in the next. I apologise that Hal wasn't awake this chapter, but he will be soon enough. Thank you, again, for taking the time to read my story. x

**Thanks for reading & I hope that you enjoy.  
X**


	70. Forget who I've become

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal's mind wakes but his eyes don't open, he doesn't twitch, he doesn't give any physical sign or indication that he is awake.

He draws in low, sharp, constant breaths of air.

His head throbs, feels clouded, and aches like it might split open. Hal feels numb. He feels too weak to move, too weak at first to do something as simple as opening his eyes.

He hears words around him, voices, parts of conversation, but he doesn't take notice because he doesn't have the energy to.

He believes at first he is dead, this is the only explanation for the way that his body feels; numb, disconnected, like he can't move his legs.

He feels such an inconsolable pain, and he never believed that such pain could be possible. The pain never ceases, it never falters, it never leaves him for long, it consumes him entirely.

He sees slow flashes before his closed eyes and as he sees one that means something, his eyes open slowly.

He sees golden hair, soft hazel eyes, a sweet smile, and he just knows that he has to find her, has to save her, has to hold her, has to be with her for always for she is his _always_.

He wakes very slowly, his eyes blurred, a bright light flashing before his eyes.

He doesn't try to move or speak.

He simply waits for his vision to become clearer, for his ears to register the words around him, for his heart to slow down.

When the bright light fades away from his eyes, he sees a familiar face leaning over him. It only takes him a moment to remember her name.

"Anne..." Hal croaks.

"It's okay, Hal. You're safe." she assures him, softly.

Hal glances towards the figure who has just appeared beside Anne; his father.

Tom stands beside Anne, a soft hand resting on her shoulder. Hal doesn't realize it at first, like everyone else does, but Tom is standing beside Anne to protect her, to keep her safe, from Hal.

"Dad..." Hal whispers, softly.

Tom says nothing.

"What-I don't..." Hal begins.

"I just need you to take it easy, Hal." Anne says, smiling sympathetically at Hal.

She glances up, briefly, and casts her eyes over Ben, Matt and Maggie; Ben stands a few feet away from Hal's beside, Maggie stands still beside him, and Matt sleeps at the back of the bus beside a sleeping Henry and Benjamin.

Ben's face is a mixture of emotions. He is struggling to control himself and convince himself that what they have done to Hal, how they have bound him down, is what's best for him. Ben is fearful of what has become of his brother and what will become of him in time. He feels a deep pain, that cannot be shed, as he thinks of what Hal has been through and all that he still has left to go through if the bug is still inside his mind.

But there is no 'if' about it.

The bug is still inside his brother's mind, that is why he fitted like his father did.

The bug has made no attempts to crawl out so it must still have a purpose, a reason, to stay in his mind and until it is out they cannot be certain that it is their Hal Mason.

"How are you feeling?" Anne asks, with a soft but sad voice.

The sight of Hal Mason, bound to the bed, bandaged, bloodied, and a former shadow of himself is a sad sight.

A tiny frown flickers on Hal's features.

"I-don't..." Hal murmurs.

Maggie can't lift her eyes away.

"Where- Maggie?" he begins, slowly. "I don't...I tried." he murmurs.

"How are you feeling, Hal?" Anne repeats, concern clear in her eyes.

"It's okay." Tom reassures him, softly, but he still stands at a distance from him.

Hal sighs shakily, the unsteadiness of his breathing becomes clearer to those around him.

He stays still, resting on his back.

He tilts his head stiffly to the side and as he does he finds that his wrists have been bound, strapped down, to the sides of the bed. He finds that his legs have also been strapped down, in a similar way, and a long, white-band, runs across his chest and prevent him from moving, shifting in bed, or sitting upwards.

He's locked in, trapped in, chained up and there is no escape, no way out.

Hal shuts his eyes tightly.

It's too painful, too familiar.

Involuntary, cold, tears slip out of his closed eyes and run down the sides of his face, falling onto his pillow.

His hands clench tightly in to fists.

More tears fall.

"No." he almost pleads, almost sobs, almost whispers.

He is here again, in this place, this position, which he never wished to return to; he is chained up, they have chained him up to protect themselves, and his memory is lacking.

He has done something terrible, something deserving of these binds, and yet he cannot remember what he has done.

"No." Hal repeats. "No. No. No."

Tom runs his hands over his tired face and draws in a sharp breath of air.

All that Tom Mason has ever wanted to do is protect his boys but he has failed so irreversibly.

He only wants to embrace them, hold them, and reassure them everything will be okay but he can't do that right now. What Tom needs to do right now is make sure that it is his son lying on the bed, and not the Overlord, and he cannot know either with certainty and that is what is so frightening for him.

Maggie can't look away, she can't move, and for a moment it feels as though she cannot breathe. It takes all the strength that she has to not cut those restraints off of Hal and take him as far away from here as she possibly can.

But she doesn't move, she stays still.

Tom breaks because he was already too far broken to return, too broken to be repaired, too broken to pretend he was anything else.

The bug is still in his son's mind, Tom acknowledges this. He doesn't know how they are going to extract the bug if it doesn't want to leave. If the Overlord is still controlling Hal, it could put up a very dangerous fight.

"Hal..." Anne sighs, softly. "Open your eyes for me, Hal, and tell me how you're feeling." Anne insists.

"You had a seizure, Hal." Anne whispers, softly.

Hal opens his eyes slowly.

"Don't." Tom says, quickly. "Don't call him that. He's not Hal." Tom states.

Hal seems almost at a lost for words. He parts his lips, like he might speak, but at first he says nothing.

"Tom." Anne says, quickly, like she is almost surprised by Tom's words.

"We don't know, we can't know who he is. We can't know it it's our Hal. He might not be my son. He might not be my boy." Tom says, a little loudly.

"Dad," Hal sighs.

He sounds so past the point of exhaustion that it's frightening.

"You have to believe me." Hal whispers. "Dad, you have to."

Tom shakes his head, as he feels hot tears falling onto his cheeks. He doesn't acknowledge them, he doesn't wipe them away.

"I want to." Tom nods, quickly. "I want to believe it's you with all of my heart, and all of my soul, but I can't. I can't know that it's you."

"What- the bug...it's not..." Hal begins.

"You had a seizure, Hal." Anne softly says.

Hal's eyes dart quickly over the room. He swallows tightly, draws in a sharp breath, and closes his eyes.

"I'm going-" Hal starts.

Maggie steps forward; she moves quickly past Ben, through Tom and Anne, and to Hal's side. She removes the restraints from his chest, first, leaning over him. Then, she unties the binds which strap his ankles down.

"What, did you want him to be sick on himself, Tom?" Maggie asks, sharply, as she reaches for a bucket.

"How the hell would that prove anything?" she snaps.

Hal leans to the side and he retches over the bucket, just as Maggie places it underneath his mouth.

He doesn't vomit, because there is nothing in his stomach to bring up, and so dry retches several times until the feeling passes.

Anne takes the bucket from Maggie and steps away to remove the mess.

Maggie tends, carefully, to Hal. She places one hand gently on the side of his left shoulder, the other hand gently on his right shoulder, and she helps him to lay back down on the bed.

Neither say a word, they barely exchange a look, and once she has set Hal down Maggie takes a step away from him, however she is careful to remain a few feet by his bedside.

"I want to believe that it's you but I can't." Tom repeats, softly, honestly.

Hal understands this but he doesn't accept it. He won't. He tries to think of something, anything, that he can say to his father that will show him the truth.

His memory cruelly brings him one of the most painful reminders, one of the most painful events, he has ever experienced.

His mother's death.

"I remember how Mom died." Hal says, almost choking on the words.

He closes his eyes tightly like he's trying to stop the tears that will fall if his eyes are open, like he can't look at his brothers as he says these words, like he's trying to desperately escape everything.

"I found her." Hal whispers.

Tom quickly shakes his head.

"You're accessing Hal's memory," Tom states. "It's not you. You're not my son." he insists.

More tears spill down the side of Hal's face.

"I am..." he murmurs. "Your son...I am."

He is so tired of this. He is tired of what he has become, of what he still has left to go through, of what he has been through. Most of all, Hal Mason if tired of fighting.

He is done.

"You didn't find her." Ben frowns. "Dad did." he states.

Tom sighs sharply, glancing towards Ben as he does.

"Hal found Mom?" Ben asks, his voice cracking, rising unintentionally.

"She had shopping bags with her." Hal begins.

He can almost picture it now; his beautiful mother, lying in a heap on the ground, smeared and dripping with her own blood, her eyes shut, her lips parted, her skin torn and frighteningly pale.

Hal had known, from the second he'd set his eyes upon her, that he'd lost his mother. He broke. He was unable to stop himself from crying as he knelt by her side, his hands frantically searching for a pulse, a heartbeat, that he never found. He pleaded and cried for his mother but she never woke up, she never returned to them despite how badly he wished that she would.

"You're accessing his mind." Tom repeats, with less confidence.

Hal chokes on his next words, they come out as a small, uncontrolled sob.

"She was wearing a green shirt, blue pants. She was coming home, she was almost home." Hal murmurs.

He tilts his head slightly to the side so he may meet his father's eyes.

Ben can't find words and he can't lift his eyes off of his brother.

Tom wants to believe it is his son, he wants to believe it with all of his heart, but they have been here before.

"The bug is still in there, we don't know if it's controlling you." Tom answers.

"She was all crumpled on the ground and the – the skitters." Hal stutters, his hands shaking even as they rest simply by his side. "Her-She- There was so much blood, dad. I was...They tore her apart. And I couldn't move but you, you found me and you were crying."

Tom shakes his head but says nothing.

"And I couldn't stop." he murmurs. "I couldn't stop shaking and the blood, it was- it was all over me, and I couldn't- I couldn't stop it."

"I want it to be real." Tom exclaims. "I want to believe you and trust you, I want to help you, and I want to let you near your brothers but I can't. You pretended you were better! You pretended you were happy when you weren't. You weren't happy, you were never better. You were ready to die. My Hal, my son, he would never do that."

Hal remains in silence.

"We know that you were ready to let him kill you, that you accepted your fate." Tom begins. "My son, my boy, he wouldn't have accepted that, he would have fought with _everything_ that he had. He would have stayed and protected his family." he says, placing a particular emphasis on the word 'everything' as it passes his lips like it means something, like Hal should have used everything he had to fight.

But Tom speaks as though Hal had something left inside of him, something left to fight with, to fight for, but he is wrong because Hal has nothing left.

Hal is defeated.

"What if..." he begins, his voice dry and unsteady. "Your son was doing it to protect his family?" he murmurs.

That sounds like Hal, something Hal would do.

Tom wants to believe it, he wants that more than anything in the world. He wants to hold his son, comfort him, and assure him everything will be fine but it won't and Hal may never be fine again.

More silence follows but this silence is dark, and empty, and it screams all that is left unspoken.

Hal feels hollow.

Anne steps forward.

"I need to tend to your wounds." she begins.

Hal closes his eyes, he sighs, and breathes in a long, deep breath of air.

"I'm...I'm just..." he begins. "I'm done." Hal says, sounding fearfully resigned.

Anne doesn't quite know how to respond.

"The bugs in my mind, isn't it?" he murmurs.

Her silence, his father's silence, is his answer; yes.

"I'm done." he repeats.

Hal is done with fighting, done with this world, done with feeling such insufferable pain.

He can't do this any longer, he can't fight this pain, he can't fight because despite how hard he tries, how much he struggles, he never wins.

He'll never win.

They will never win in this world.

"What do you mean, you're done?" Ben speaks up, speaks through the silence, speaks to his brother like he believes it is his brother.

His eyes stay tightly locked, not wanting to allow any light in, any picture, any familiar face.

"Please, Ben..." Hal manages to says, with a dry voice.

"What do you mean, Hal?" Ben repeats. "You're done fighting? You're done with being a part of our family? You're done living?" he asks.

He gives no answer, no words pass his lips, not a single sound, but Ben knows, just as those around him do, what Hal's answer is; he is done with fighting, done with being part of a family which he does not belong in as he has hurt them so badly, and done with living because he hasn't lived in months.

It hasn't been living, it has been a painful, unrelenting, existence.

"Give me time." Maggie says, turning towards Anne.

Anne frowns, slightly.

"With Hal?" Tom speaks.

Maggie is more than confident.

"Yes." she replies. "I'll tend to his wounds, bandages, everything. Just give me time." she states, and she's not really asking but stating that she will have time alone with Hal Mason.

"Maggie..." Tom begins.

"I don't care, Tom, about what he has in his head. Right now, I care about what's on the outside – his injuries need to be cared for. I'll do that. Give me time." Maggie says.

"He could be dangerous, we don't know what he's going to be like. We don't know if it's Hal." Tom answers, softly, regretfully, as he runs his hands over his tired face.

She doesn't need to think about this.

"I do. I know. And if I'm wrong, then that's a risk I'm willing to take." she answers.

Maggie finds Hal in darkness.

An inconsolable, unwavering, unfaltering darkness in which they are both consumed by.

She doesn't try to remove him from this darkness, she enters it willingly because he is in it and she would do anything for him.

She joins him in the darkness and begins to tend to him, to his wounds, to his cuts and bruises.

She prefers it this way, in the darkness, because the curtains are closed, it is just the two of them, and they have time.

They don't have much of it, it's running out quicker than she wants it to, they need it now more than ever, but they will use all of the time that they have.

It's not much but it's enough for now.

She finds him resting on his back, his eyes still tightly closed, his hands still in fists by his sides, his breathing still heavy.

She doesn't want to wake him, if he is resting, so instead she moves towards his side and attempts to lift the blanket away from his body.

But his hand grips her wrists before her fingers can grasp the material of the blanket.

His eyes stay shut.

"Maggie..." he sighs.

"Let me help you, Hal." she answers.

His hand stays on her wrist, it is a gentle hold, like he is afraid if he touches her too harshly, too strongly, that he will hurt her as he has hurt her before.

His eyes open and meet hers.

His brown hazel eyes, which once swirled with such gold, such light, such love, are empty and hollow, just like the man that she sees before her.

"You said..." he begins, softly.

She waits in silence for his words

"You said you loved me." he whispers.

But he is emotionless, almost like the words mean nothing – but they mean everything to Hal, they are everything he has wanted to hear, she is everything he has always wanted, she is all he will want, and the love he feels for her, and with her, is all that he will ever want to feel.

But Hal Mason knows that he is a dead man.

With time, he will either succumb to his physical injuries, or his mental injuries, or he will be punished, and killed, for all that he has done.

She presses her lips together tightly, her eyes harden, but she doesn't look away.

Maggie gives a slight nod of her head.

Hal's pale, dry lips break out in to a smile which is sad, and small, and somehow, to Maggie, it feels like the last one that she will ever see.

"Then let me go." he almost pleads.

She doesn't understand immediately.

"If you love me..." he softly, begins, his hand still gently, tenderly, holding her wrist. "Let me die." he says.

She won't hear his words, she cannot believe that it is her Hal Mason speaking them.

Maggie swallows tightly, her eyes burn, she feels a fire building up inside of her chest.

"If you loved me," she says, speaking with a much harsher tone than she had previously intended to. "Then you'd never say that. You wouldn't say that." she says.

Hal lowers his hand away from her, placing it down by his side.

"I do, Maggie." he whispers. "But I'm not good for you, for anyone."

"After all of this time, after everything, you still think that you're not good for me?" she questions.

She doesn't wait for his words, because she won't hear them, she won't hear him speak of himself like he is already dead, like they don't have anything, like he can't make it through this.

"After everything that we have been through, together, after everything – You're struggling, Hal. I get that, okay?" she says, loudly.

"I do. I struggle every day of my life, and you know what? I'll probably struggle every day for the rest of my life, however short or long it is. But that's the thing, Hal. We don't know how much time we have and we can't waste it thinking about-" she continues.

"The lives we took?" he asks.

There is no emotion and no feeling in his voice, his eyes, or on his face; he is empty.

"Or the people we hurt?" he continues. "The pain we caused?"

"The mistakes we made, the mistakes we'd take back in a heartbeat if only we had the chance to." she whispers, dejectedly.

"I don't have a chance." he murmurs.

She believes this.

"You're right, you don't, Hal." she agrees. "There is no going back. You can't take back what you've done, you can't fix it, you can't stop the aching pain which you feel inside of you but you can move past it."

"If I don't die," he speaks slowly. "They'll probably kill me, and I deserve it for everything I've done."

"You don't. I'll never believe that." she answers. "And they won't kill you." she says, "I won't let them."

"I have a bug inside of my mind, Maggie!" Hal shouts. "Someone or something is going to kill me eventually."

"I won't let that happen." she says.

It takes him several minutes to speak again, and when he does his voice is softer, almost kinder, almost like he is the Hal she knew.

"Maggie..." he whispers.

"What?" she asks, her hands crossed over herself.

"Lie down with me." he says, not asking but rather pleading that she accept his request. "Please. I don't – just stay with me."

_Until I fall asleep_, he hears a memory whisper in his voice.

It is the memory of Maggie, as he sat by her beside, held her hand, helped her to find peace.

He wants to find peace but he does not believe that such a thing exists for him, and even if it were to exist, if he were to find it, such a thing is unattainable for a man such as he.

She lowers her body down, beside his, without speaking, almost without breathing, and without thinking. She breathes in sharply as she positions herself beside him.

She rests on her back, as he does, and they _just_ manage to fit, to squeeze into the bed together.

"You're tired." she says.

His eyes stay steady on her.

"But you don't want to sleep." she adds, like she can read his thoughts.

"Maggie..." he says, his voice still a whisper. "What if this is it?" he asks.

She remains silent, still holding his gaze with her own uncertain eyes.

"What if..." he begins slowly, drawing out the words. "This is all we have left."

"It's not." she whispers, but she doesn't sound as confident as she wants to be, as she needs to be, to believe the words as they pass her lips.

"If it is..." he begins.

"Don't, Hal." she warns him.

"Then I need you to know something." he says.

"Hal." she sighs.

"Please, Maggie." he pleads. "There's something you need to know, something you need to hear."

"I'm sorry...For everything I've said, and done. I know I've hurt you, in so many ways, and I'm sorry." he says, closing his eyes slowly.

"You saved me." she murmurs, honestly.

"But I hurt you, and I just...You said, once, that there is never a lost cause if there are people left fighting for it." he says, triggered by the memory, the chain, that he sees hanging around her neck.

She stays still.

"I don't want you...or anyone, to fight for me. I don't. I have nothing left, Maggie. I was at my last drop but it's all gone." he whispers, his eyes weakly opening.

"We can get it back." she says, still fighting for him because she will always fight for him. "I'm not giving up on you."

"I want you to." he admits, quietly.

Hal wants her to give up on him, he wants them all too, because he believes that he is past the point of being saved, past the point of forgiveness, past the point of return.

"I know you do, but it's not happening." she answers, confidently.

"Maggie..." he sighs..

"I know that you're tired, Hal, and you think that you have nothing left to give, you think that there's nothing left for you – but you still have me, you will always have me, and if you fight this, if you try to fight through this, then we can make it out together." she says.

"I want to..but I don't think I can." Hal answers, lowly.

"You're weak, right now, but you'll get stronger. The Hal Mason I know, the one I know is still in here..." she whispers, placing her hand softly on the place where his beautiful heart beats. "He's in here somewhere. I know he wants to come back, he wants to come home. and he can if he fights hard enough."

"I can't fight." he sighs, closing his eyes again.

"I know you can't fight today, but you don't have to." she soothingly says. "You just have to stay with me."

"I want to." he says, lifting his hand up slowly and placing it on her hand, which still rests on his chest.. "It's all I want."

"Then stay, here, with me. Don't give up." she says.

"For you." he says, eyes still closed, his hand still holding hers.

"Try to rest, Hal..." Maggie whispers.

He gives her silence, but she knows he isn't sleeping.

"Keep your eyes closed, and look for the mountains." she whispers.

Hal can't see them, he can't remember them, he can't imagine what they might look like, what he described to her that they would look like.

He only sees darkness.

"Tell me about them, Maggie." he whispers, his voice cracking as he sleeps.

She keeps her hand in his.

"Deep, cool, hollow caves..." she whispers.

A picture begins to form in Hal's mind.

Maggie places her right hand on top of Hal's, leaving her left hand resting on his chest, and she begins to slowly trace invisible, soothing, patterns on his hands.

"Rocky paths, pebbles, stones, and dirt that lead down to a clearing, an opening." she says.

He sees a small rocky path, surrounded by pebbles and dirt.

She softly continues, "There's lots of grass. It's green, and alive, and none of it is dead. Nothing is dead, nothing can die here. It's alive, everything."

"There's an orange sunset. It's warm, and softy, and it's everywhere." she whispers.

He can feel the warm orange sunset, on his skin, and he can see it clearly; there are light shades of yellow painted through this sunset, as it fall softly onto the field.

He sees the fields of lavender before she describes the to him.

"A field of purple...Of lavender."

The tiniest, weakest smile forms on Hal's pale lips and it is a sight which brings Maggie to tears.

She bites down on her lip, to stop herself from crying, from breaking down, because she has to stay strong for him, she has to be here for him, with him, and she has to focus everything that she has, all that she has left, on him.

"We're there, Hal." she says.

"We are?" he asks, quietly, his voice soft and barely above a whisper.

"We are." she softly says. "Can you see me?" she asks.

Hal focuses, he tries so hard, to try to picture Maggie, to see her beside him, and as he turns to his right he finds her, moving towards him in the fields, her long golden curls fall around her face, a soft smile rests on her face.

She extends her hand to him and he takes it.

"I do. I can..." he whispers.

Maggie can't stop the few tears which escape, despite how badly she had attempted to stop them from doing so. They slide slowly down her cheeks, but she doesn't dare wipe them as she isn't willing to let go of his hands anytime soon.

She leads him to the lavender fields, they walk through it slowly, their hands connected, their eyes never leaving the others, the smiles staying on their faces.

Slowly, they lay down in the purple fields.

They lay down beside each other, facing each other, their hands stay entwined, their eyes stay connected, they remain as close as they can.

"We're in the fields...Lying down." he whispers.

Maggie smiles. "We are?" she asks, and as she speaks she is tempted to close her eyes, tempted to leave and be in these fields with her, but she doesn't dare shut her eyes.

She will keep her eyes open, focused on him, until she knows he will be okay.

"You're facing me." he tells her.

She keeps her eyes set on him, his eyes stay shut, and she continues to watch him closely as she will as he rests.

"You're with me.." he says, sounding almost like he cannot believe that she is here with him.

More tears fall on Maggie's cheeks.

"Always." she whispers, and he hears these words in both his reality and in his dream, in the fields of purple and gold.

"You promised always." she says, softly, as she leans in closer towards Hal.

Maggie presses a soft kiss to his lips, a kiss which he feels, a kiss which he feels her doing in his imagination, in his dream, in his escape from the haunting horrors of reality.

"I'm holding you to that..." she whispers, resting her head against his.

Hal smiles. "Always..."

She allows Hal to rest, for in the morning when he wakes he will need all of the strength that he has to deal with all that the new sun brings, to survive the pain which will accompany the changing and tending to his many wounds, he will need to rest so that he may fight the darkness because in his darkness moments, joining it, succumbing to it, allowing it to take him, will be so tempting that it may lure him in.

In the morning, when he wakes, she will be by his side.

* * *

Tom glances up slowly, from where he rests against the side of the bench, to find Pope eying him off.

"Can I help you, Pope?" Tom sighs.

"A word, Mason." Pope replies, simply.

Tom frowns, slightly, and shakes his head once.

"I'm not in the mood, Pope." Tom answers, quickly.

Pope considers this. "But, you did just ask whether you could indeed help me, and this would be helping me. Besides, I don't care. You need to hear this."

Tom stands up a little straighter. "If it's about my son's-" he begins, angrily.

"What?" Pope leans forward, in his bed. "You'll tell me where to shove it?" he lifts an eyebrow. "It's not about your boys, it's about..." he begins.

He glances towards where the curtains have been drawn over, giving Maggie and Hal some privacy, before he looks back at Tom who seems to understand who it is that Pope wants to speak to him about.

Tom releases a softer, but longer, sigh before he slowly steps towards Pope.

"What is it, Pope?" Tom asks, sounding past the point of exhaustion as he speaks.

"I overheard your little conversation earlier, but then again I think that the whole damn bus overheard _that_." Pope comments, propping himself up in bed so he is sitting upwards.

"What's your point, Pope?" Tom asks.

"My point is that for a Professor, you're not that smart." Pope announces.

Tom's frown deepens.

Tom replies, "Excuse me?"

"I said, for a professor you sure as hell-" Pope starts.

"I heard what you said. What do you mean, by it?" Tom answers, quickly and loudly speaking over Pope.

"First, you say she's not part of your family, then you try to convince her that she is." Pope says.

His frown deepens, he closes his eyes briefly and runs his hands over his face and then down to the back of his neck. Once Tom opens his eyes, he speaks.

"Why do you care, Pope?" Tom asks.

"Trust me, I don't." Pope says.

Tom believes him.

"But if you're stupid enough, _Professor Mason_, to keep talking about family to her then you're just rubbing salt in an old wound." Pope answers.

"What wounds?" Tom queries.

Pope seems hesitant, almost, but still he speaks.

"She lost her family, Mason. All of them." Pope informs him.

Tom feels an immediate guilt weighing down upon him, for telling Maggie she wasn't part of the Mason family, for not knowing about her loss.

"You say she isn't part of yours, then you say she is. It's more like rubbing goddamn acid in her wounds." Pope says, with a much lower voice so he will be sure only Tom will hear his words.

"What is your point, Pope?" Tom sighs again.

"My point is, not only do you speak of these things – You talk about her losing your bug-infested grand-baby, with Mason Junior who is the absolute furthest thing from being himself, and you know what that reminds her of, hm? A certain son of hers, on this very bus, whom she gave up. All the while, that young Marine was just given that diagnosis of cancer, no doubt reminding Maggie-May of her own suffering. Now, before you get it in your head that I care, I don't. I don't give a damn. I'm just smart enough to not say any of that." Pope says; as he speaks he speaks with a lower voice, a colder voice, and keeps his eyes focused firmly on Mason.

"And what your gang did to her, that's smart enough? You don't think, for a second, that you might be a reminder to her of that?" Tom counters, quickly.

"It seems to be conveniently forgotten that I saved her from becoming another mech speck." Pope almost growls.

"You have to live with what they did to her, what they let them do." Tom simply says.

For a moment, and only for a flickering moment, Tom believes that Pope is going to lash out at him, harm him, yell, shout, or physically attack him.

But instead, Pope stays eerily silent for a moment.

"I know full well what I have to live with, Mason, I live with it all every damn day." Pope angrily murmurs. "But don't you dare stand there, on your freakin' high horse, acting like you're better than me, like you don't have your own-"

"I'm not, Pope. I'm not acting like I'm better than anyone." Tom insists.

Pope releases a long, low sigh. "All I'm trying to say is watch your words, Mason."

"I have enough going on, Pope, without the most inappropriate and inconsiderate man on this bus, who says whatever the hell he wants to with no consideration of the aftermath, telling me to be careful with what I say. I don't need that." Tom sharply replies.

"You know what, Mason?" Pope starts. "I was just – Forget I said anything, forget it all. Forget the whole damn conversation."

But some thing cannot be forgotten, some things will never be forgotten.

Those that have been lost can't be forgotten, all that you have done will never be forgotten, the things which you did, those which you failed to do, will stay with you always.

The past haunts you, your failures stay with you, your demons become a part of you, and the darkness always takes you, in a moment of weakness or desperation it will take you and you will allow it to because you have nothing left to fight with.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all! I apologise, very much, for the lateness of this update. I never intended to wait so long between updates, but things got busy and life got in the way. I'm not too happy with this chapter, but I hope you may feel otherwise. I wanted to do something a little bigger, for the big 7-0 chapter, but I hope that you still enjoy this regardless of the fact it is lacking in action.**

**Thank you for staying with me, I'll try to be faster with my updates, so again I'm sorry and I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes.**

**Dear guest reviewer, Victoria, who reviewed chapter 69:  
**Hi, Victoria :) I'm so very happy that you loved it, and I love reading your reviews so thank you for reading them. I hope that you are happy with this chapter, and the scene in which Hal wakes up, and while this chapter sort of skims past everyone's reaction to him waking up, their reactions will be more focused on in the next chapter. :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, and I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. x

**Dear guest reviewer, Guest, who reviewed chapter 69:  
**Hi, guest reviewer :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story, it really means a lot to me. I'm sorry for the confusion - I'm addressing your question now. No, Maggie is no longer pregnant with Hal's baby. Thanks for reading my story! x

**I apologise, again, for the wait and I hope you enjoy this new update.**

_Also, I wanted to thank every single person who takes the time out of their life to read this story, and review it. You inspire me. I honestly never dreamt of posting anything on this site, I considered it several times, and I often chose not to and when I eventually did post this story I was beyond the point of being nervous. This story started up in the note section of my phone, a couple notes and ideas I typed up, and somehow I've ended up with a 70 chapter story, with many more chapters to come, ideas that I never stop thinking of, and great and kind people I've met, who have only ever been enthusiastic and kind.  
I never ever thought I'd make it here, and I am so humbled and flattered by the experience so far. I hope that you have enjoyed reading my story so far, and that you enjoy what is to come. Thank you._

_X_


	71. The roads that lead the way are winding

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal wakes slowly from a peaceful illusion.

The morning sun is clouded by thick and heavy clouds of rain which threaten to break and fall heavily on the Second Mass as they continue driving forward.

They have to keep moving forward because they can't look back, they can't go back to the burnt down library, to the painful reminder of the betrayer among them.

He believed they viewed him as such, as a betrayer, a traitor, and yet he didn't care what anyone in the Second Mass thought of him because he'd lost his spark, his energy to care, long ago.

Hal Mason doesn't feel much anymore.

His feelings consist of pain and guilt, grief and agony, and above all rage.

There is a rage boiling inside of his heart, trying to consume him, to take him entirely, and he wants to allow it, he will allow it to take him, for he wants to use this rage, along with his pain, to destroy the aliens that did this to him.

This is Hal's plan.

This is all he has left – his vengeance against the aliens who took the old Hal from him, who ripped out his soul, who destroyed the good, removed the gold, and left him with a poisonous darkness, a corrupted mind, and a broken body.

They left him with nothing and because of that, because they took everything from him, he will kill them all.

Hal doesn't know where to begin but the beginning of his journey isn't as important as the end of it, for the end will leave him standing over the bodies of the aliens who tortured him, it will leave him feeling accomplished, it will give him peace and then he may finally rest.

For he cannot rest until the evil who destroyed him, who destroyed his family and those he cares so deeply about, is dead like the man he was.

He opens his eyes slowly, his body aching and his head throbbing, to find her beside him.

She is everything he has ever wanted, she is all he will ever want, she is all he has ever known of love, and he loves her so but when you love someone you're supposed to want the best for them, to want what's right for them, to want them to live a long and happy life.

He doesn't believe he can give her those things.

He can barely give her his love, for there is little love left inside him to give, but he would give it all for her.

He will always give it all for her and to her.

And when he finds her beside him, he knows that he must give it to her, he must give her what she deserves.

As his eyes rest upon her he doesn't believe it, doesn't believe the sight before his eyes, doesn't believe that he is good enough for her.

But above all, he doesn't believe that this sight, of gold hair and warm brown eyes, is real.

She is a fragment of his imagination, a picture of light that he conjured up to feel better, to feel something, anything, and despite his momentary belief that she isn't real, that she isn't here with him and that he is lying somewhere, dead or dying, blown to hell, left for dead, when she smiles at him he knows that it is real for there is such sorrow in the brown swirl of her eyes.

Pain lurks in her eyes, she cannot conceal it even if she'd attempted to.

But she doesn't attempt to conceal it because she doesn't wish to conceal it.

And it's like she knows what he's thinking, knows that he is aware that this will probably be the last peaceful moment that they have together, the last moment they have.

This is it.

He smiles at her, sadness sweeping over his features.

She inches closer to him, strokes his hair gently, tries to focus on anything but her overpowering moments.

"This is it." he murmurs.

She tries to deny it but he sees doubt in her eyes.

While resting, Maggie overheard chatter outside, talks of procedures to remove the bug, to lure it out, and how the had to treat the situation with a great deal of caution considering how many could have died at the library, how many could have died because of the bug in Hal Mason's mind.

She shakes her head, presses her lips tightly together, and takes his hand in hers.

"It's not." she says finally.

He smiles at her still, lifting his right hand slowly up to her cheek. He brushes her cheek gently with his thumb and pointer finger, for the other three fingers have been strapped together and feel too sore to move, he wouldn't dare attempt to bend them.

Maggie shuts her eyes and breathes in slowly.

"Hal." she says, still trying to be confident, still trying to protect him.

Her eyes open slowly.

"Margaret." he smiles.

And she sees it.

A flash of his old smile, a flicker of the old Hal, and she always knew, always knew that he'd never disappeared entirely, that he hadn't left her, that he might one day come back.

But this wasn't the old Hal's homecoming.

This was the shadow of Hal, the shattered leftover fragments of the man he was, saying goodbye.

His real smile wasn't real at all, but she would take it as being real, she had to believe that it was real and he had to convince her that it was.

This was their last moment, he knew it and she would later learn that it was his goodbye.

Maggie's smile widens. "How are you feeling?" she asks quietly, like she's afraid someone outside will hear, burst in and rip him from her arms.

And she isn't finished with him yet, she'll never be finished with him.

She won't say goodbye because they don't have to say goodbye.

They have always, he promised her that.

"Not good, Maggie." he answers truthfully, still smiling, still watching her carefully.

A flicker of a frown darts across her features, her smile falters, her hand remains holding his and his right hand remains on her cheek.

"Why are you smiling?" she asks, not understanding why he would be smiling if he feels bad.

"Because of you..." he murmurs weakly, eyes briefly closing, breathing hitching slightly.

"Hal, are you okay?" she asks, half sitting upwards.

His eyes open again.

His smile remains. "It's all because of you."

And those few words mean so much, she understands them even if he doesn't elaborate on them, even though he fails to say what exactly he means by them she knows.

He has survived this long because of her, he has made it here because of her, his life has been better because of her.

She buries herself back down against the pillow, allows his hand to brush against her cheek and rest their comfortably.

"I don't have any regrets, Hal." she says.

He seems disbelieving, for the look that spreads across his face indicates this much, but he says nothing.

"I mean, with you. There have been trying times. But we always made it through and we always will. We're partners." she says.

He leans towards her and presses a soft kiss to her lips; this is his goodbye, this is it, for no parting words could be used.

He doesn't have the strength for a real goodbye.

Her eyes shut at the kiss.

When he breaks away, she keeps them shut, like she knows what is to come.

"Thank you." he whispers roughly.

She feels the bed become empty, the blankets shift, she hears him groan as he positions his body upwards.

She opens her eyes to find him sitting upwards, his bloodied, bandaged, harnessed back facing her and she knows what he is thinking, that this is it, that the bug has to be removed but if it can't then he has to be left behind.

But she will never allow him to be left behind.

"Anne." Hal calls out weakly, his voice rising slightly.

And that's all he says.

The bus is nearly entirely silent so Anne is easily able to catch Hal's words.

Tom stands at the sound of Hal's raw voice echoing through the silent bus.

Tom turns quickly to Anne, who is already at the curtain. She pulls the curtain back slightly, finding Hal resting on the edge of the bed, looking worse than he did the previous day; the bruises on his skin are darker, the blood has seeped through the bandages, they haven't been tended to.

Anne's eyes flicker quickly over Hal before they move towards Maggie, who stands almost like a ghost at the side of the bed. She stares down at the bed sheets like she's somewhere else, like she's imaging at better place, a safer time, or like she can see something that no one else can.

"Hal, how are you feeling?" Anne asks.

Hal's eyes move past her and towards his father, who he finds standing a few feet away from him.

Tom is uncertain and frightened, he is stressed and worried, and what makes the situation so much worse, what makes it so unbearable, is that every time that he looks at Hal he wants to forget it all, he wants to forget the possibility of the bug in his son's mind, he wants to forget the very idea that Hal might not be their Hal right now and he wants to hold his son, care for him, and he wants things to return to how they were.

But then he remembers the library, how they nearly lost a large group of civilians, how he almost lost Hal to his injuries and he realizes that he cannot care for his son until he is certain that it is his son and not the Espheni.

Hal doesn't respond to her question, instead he runs his tongue over his dry lip, breathes in sharply and keeps his eyes set on his fathers.

"Maggie," Anne soothingly says, "I thought you said you were going to tend to his wounds. Now, the chance of infection-"

"Don't speak to her like that." Hal cuts in sharply.

Anne returns her soft gaze back towards Hal.

"Hal..." she sighs.

"I told her not to do it. I told her I didn't want her to. Don't speak to her like that." he says, loudly and defensively.

"I'm not, Hal." Anne soothingly says, and she speaks to him like he's a child, like he's breakable, like they have to be so cautious around him due to the fragile state he's in.

Hal says nothing.

"How are you feeling?" Tom asks, taking a slight step towards his son.

Hal meets him with cold eyes.

"Why don't we get started?" Hal suggests.

Tom half frowns. "I'm sorry?"

"No, you're not." Hal answers. "You spoke loud enough."

Anne sighs. "Hal."

"You spoke about drawing the bug out. Lourdes' idea, right?" he asks, he speaks slowly but not intentionally slow, he speaks slowly because he is exhausted. "What's the plan? Strap me down, shoot some bolts into me until it's drawn out?"

A dark silence follows.

"I'm all for it," Hal states, "I have nothing to lose."

Tom turns briefly towards Maggie, and finds that she has lifted her eyes to watch Hal and only Hal.

"Maggie, don't you want-" Tom starts.

"To what, Dad?" Hal asks. "Doesn't she want to have a say? She tried to. But no one listened. She's the only one that listened to me."

Tom takes a step closer to Hal, eyes sympathetic, expression painted with pain.

"I listened to you, Hal." Tom whispers softly.

"You're calling me that now?" Hal frowns slightly. "I thought I was the Overlord, or the Espheni?"

"You're still Hal, you're just confused." Tom responds patiently and calmly.

Hal doesn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm not confused," he says, "My thoughts are slow. My memory is lacking. I'm not confused about that. You know, I can't remember a lot. But I remember you, Dad, when you had the bug and people questioned you, they doubted you, but I stood by you. I remember standing by you."

"You had a fit like I did, Hal." Tom sighs sadly. "Blood came from your eye. That tells us that the bug is still in there. And don't say that I'm not with you because I am, I always will be. I am standing by you, Hal."

Hal smiles sadly, a stray tear slips down his cheek but he leaves, not wiping it, to continue trickling down.

"From a distance." Hal murmurs, his eyes falling slowly down towards the floor.

Tom swallows tightly and runs his hands over his creased forehead.

"We have to be cautious." Tom insists.

"Mm." Hal mutters lowly in response.

"Hal..." Tom sighs sadly. "Please understand that we just have to be cautious."

Hal swallows tightly. "What's the plan?" he repeats.

Lourdes appears by Anne's side, after hearing the end of the conversation she believed that it would be best if she spoke now, about the ideas that she had about luring the bug out.

"We thought we could draw the bug out or at least draw it to the surface – like with Tom's eye, if we could draw it up to your eye, or if we could make it want to escape we could extract it." Lourdes announces.

Maggie stiffens up. "If you hurt him-" she starts.

"Maggie, I promise you that we won't hut him." Lourdes promises.

Hal releases a long deep sigh of air.

"Can I just..." he starts lowly. "Can I just stretch first?"

Maggie frowns at this.

This should have been the first indication, the first sign, that all was not how it should be with Hal because a broken man, a man as badly injured as Hal, wouldn't ask to stretch his broken body.

Anne agrees to his simple request because she wants to help him, to assist him in healing and recovering, to give Tom back his son, to give Matt and Ben back their brother, and to give Maggie back her partner. But, above all, she wants to give the Second Mass back Hal Mason; the brave fighter, the devoted solider, the good friend, and the kind man.

The pain that overcomes Hal as he stands is excruciating.

He slips slightly, hands shaking, body aching beyond anything he has felt before, left hand gripping the bed rail until his knuckles have turned pale white.

"Are you sure you want to be doing this, Hal?" Anne asks softly, gently, as her hand rests comfortably on his shoulder.

He presses his lips tightly together and nods.

Anne releases a soft sigh and steps out of the curtains, pulling them back slightly so Hal may have more room to move around in.

Hal lifts his head up slowly, eyes moving quickly over those on the bus, those he knows in his heart that he is responsible for their injuries.

He settles his eyes on Ben, who is sitting beside a silent Matt.

Matt's eyes light up at the sight of Hal but he doesn't move.

Hal silently wonders what was told to Matt, was he told of the bugs or was he lied to and told that he was sick.

Hal feels a guilt as he knows what will come, what his brothers will witness, but he knows that when he kills the aliens who did this to him that he won't feel guilt anymore.

He will feel free.

The weight of a thousand heavy brick stones upon his tired shoulders will be shed and he will be free.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready, Hal." Anne says softly.

Hal knows this.

Regardless of the painful physical condition he has found himself in, he knows that it is now or never with never being the more likely considering the way that Logan is watching him cautiously and carefully, like it's only a matter of time until he slips up and Logan will be there to take him down, to end it.

"I'm ready." he murmurs so softly, so quietly, that no one but Maggie catches the words.

She has moved to his side but she keeps at a distance, almost like she is afraid if she steps closer to him, if she looks closer at his wounds, then she won't be able to keep herself together.

He meets her gaze briefly, the tiniest hint of a smile flickering on his features for her – and only for her.

"Hal..." she exhales softly.

But he doesn't turn to her for fear that her brown eyes will convince him to stay, that she will convince him to rest, to care for himself, to focus on healing.

But he can't focus on healing until he has done what must be done.

Hal takes a step forward, feet unsteady, back slightly arched, hands trembling still.

He nearly falls.

Maggie manages to prop him up, to stop him from falling by catching him underneath the right shoulder.

She saves him.

She pulls him upwards slowly, assists him in standing, and just as she is about to tell him he should rest, to convince him that this is the worst thing he could be doing right now, she catches something in his eyes.

It's almost like she is looking into the eyes of a younger version of herself; a younger, defeated, fearful version who has almost nothing left but is still willing to fight, who is willing to fight to reclaim their last drop from the thieves who stole it, who took it without remorse or regret, and she can't deny him that.

She can't deny Hal the need to reclaim his drop.

But she doesn't understand that by reclaiming his drop of life he will have to leave her, she believes that he needs to move on his own, to stand, to strengthen himself, and so she allows him to stand alone again.

He takes a step forward on his own, breathing heavy, his chest rising and falling almost uncontrollably, but he doesn't give up because he hears something.

He hears a fragment of a voice, a voice he cannot place to a face, but this voice is speaking to him softly, telling him he is a fighter, he is stronger than he believes, that he can beat anything and he can survive anything that the world throws at him.

And then the face comes to him.

The picture of his mother, smiling softly, a warm light falling down over her face.

And he could nearly cry at this sight, at the image of another lost soul, but he doesn't cry because he has to focus.

She fades away, she leaves him as she left him in reality; bloody and lifeless.

He focuses on the pain that accompanies that image of her, coated with crimson, and he tries to only feel the rage that he feels as she disappears, the rage that consumes him when he cannot reach out to her, and the rage that constantly reminds him he is not the son she wanted him to be, he is not the man she hoped he would grow into, he is not the man he was.

He is an imposter and he can't pretend like he doesn't care he's not who he was, doesn't care he's not the man he grew into in his father's absence, because he does care.

He cares that he isn't the brother he once was to Matt, or that he never had the chance to be a better brother to Ben. He cares that he can't be the son that his father could be proud of, the son that his father could trust and believe in. He cares that he can't be the partner he once was to Maggie, he cares that he never had the chance to see what life might have been like if things had been different, if life had been better, easier, or if it had been life at all.

He hasn't been living in these past months and he fears he will never live again.

Reality returns to him in the form of a touch.

Maggie's hand, firm yet gentle, resting upon his shoulder.

He meets her gaze and simply nods, he gives her no explanation because words fail him, words wouldn't suffice, words cannot be used to explain all that he thinks and feels, all that he lacks and all that he's missing, all that he tries to be and all that he's not.

Words are nothing.

A small breath of air escapes his lips as he takes another step forward, his eyes slowly skimming over the bus as though he's looking for something specific, something that he's lost, or something that he needs.

But he isn't looking for something, rather someone.

And he finds them in the form of Pope.

Hal can't deny, as his eyes fall down to Pope's gun resting at the edge of his bed, that this won't feel somewhat good, that this won't be some sort of payback for what Pope did, for all that Pope has done and said to his family, and this includes Maggie because she is just as important as his family.

He finds Pope sitting on the very side of his bed, watching him already with a clear caution in his eyes and it's almost the same caution that he finds in Logan's eyes, the same willingness to take Hal out if he acts, the only difference is Hal doesn't believe Pope would kill him, only injure or maim him to stop him.

But Pope won't injure him this time because he won't have the upper-hand, he won't be prepared, he won't see it coming.

No one sees it coming.

When it hits, when Hal makes his move, it is an unexpected action which they should have seen coming.

He finds his strength in pain, in agony, and in thoughts of the dead, the thoughts of those killed by the aliens, and he uses this strength to put his arm around Pope's neck.

He drags him off of the bed, with Pope's head stuck between his elbow, and reaches for the gun Pope had so carelessly left at the end of his bed.

Pope tries to struggle, to fight it, but stops as Anne speaks.

"Pope, you'll hurt him." she says.

Pope could nearly laugh.

"What- You gotta be kiddin' me, son of a bitch has a gun to my freakin' head." Pope exclaims loudly.

Hal hears the sounds of gun's cocking behind him, he knows without glancing that these guns belong to the Marines, but he doesn't care, doesn't glance back, doesn't make a move.

"Hal." Maggie says, with a sharpness to her voice.

"Hal. What are you doing?" Ben cries out, as he tries to step towards his brother.

Ben wraps his arms around Matt to hold him back.

"Dad?" Benjamin calls out.

Hal shuts his eyes and swallows tightly, gun still pressed firmly to Pope's temple.

Pope surprisingly does not struggle because as he sets his eyes down upon his boy he doesn't want to struggle and beat Mason Junior to a pulp like he would have before.

But that was before and this is now, and he doesn't want to show that sort of violence in front of his kid.

"Sit down, Benjamin." Pope instructs.

Benjamin doesn't move. "You said you wouldn't kill him."

"Hal, you don't have to do this." Anne says soothingly.

"Hal," Tom starts. "This won't achieve anything. Pope hasn't done anything."

Hal's eyes open slowly.

"This isn't about Pope." he answers coldly.

And that's all he says.

"What do you mean – What are you talking about, Benjamin?" Pope asks.

"Shut up." Hal snaps.

Pope doesn't shut up.

"You've got some nerve, boy. Spitting out orders when -" Pope angrily begins.

"When what, Pope? I've got a gun to your head?" Hal sharply responds.

Then, the aching in his head returns.

The aching, pounding, throbbing pain.

The voices and memories appear like flashes; painful, bright flashes and he can't take it.

He can't see them clearly but he doesn't want to.

Everyone is talking to him.

Matt is calling out while Ben is promising him everything will be fine. Tom is trying to stop Logan from overpowering his son, Anne is asking Lourdes to take the children up to the back of the bus, while Dai tries to ease Hal out of this situation.

Hal isn't the man he was but that doesn't mean he's not still in there, that the old Hal isn't still inside. He just needs time and care, and then he can return to them.

"Just stop it." Hal says.

No one stops.

"Just stop talking!" he shouts, because his head feels like it has been split open and torn apart.

Silence falls.

She speaks.

"Hal..." Maggie says cautiously but calmly.

She takes slow steps towards Hal, watching as his eyes open again and reluctantly lock with hers.

"Don't." he says, but he doesn't say it as loudly or fiercely as he had earlier.

"No one is going to hurt you, Hal." she promises.

And as much as he wants to believe this, as much as he wants to believe her promises, he can't and he doesn't believe them.

He is left with more emptiness, more hollow words, that mean nothing.

"Don't-" he starts.

"Hey." she says firmly. "Look at me." she instructs.

His eyes have fallen down towards the ground.

All but Maggie stay silent, watching as she approaches the still, pale, dark eyed Hal.

Pope's eyes flicker towards Maggie, they share a brief exchange, a brief look that is understood by both, before she turns her eyes back on Hal.

"Look at me." she repeats.

He looks up at her slowly, almost like he is ashamed.

Hal is ashamed of himself, of all that he has done and all that he has become.

But what he is doing now will send him on his way down the path of retribution and revenge.

"Hal, you don't have to do this." she says. "Put the gun down. All you have to do is put the gun down. That's all you have to do. And you can just walk away."

"He can't walk away from this," Logan announces. "Not after everything he has done, the lives he has taken and endangered. The lives he has tried to take."

"Shut it or I'll ram my gun down your throat." Maggie snaps sharply, not even turning towards Logan.

She looks at Hal and only Hal.

"You can walk away from this." she promises.

He knows that he can walk away from this, that he will walk away from this, but he will walk away from it alone.

"We can walk away from it, Hal." she whispers softly.

And he wants this.

Her words are gentle and soothing and he wants to believe them, to accept her offer, to walk away from this with her but sadly he believes that if he stays with her, if he walks away with her, then he will be leading her towards further pain and suffering and he doesn't want that for her.

"No." he says, but the words barely escape, they are almost inaudible as they pass his pale and cracked lips.

"Yes." she corrects him.

If she believes it then he has to believe it, he has to believe that they can be in this together, that they can walk away together, because as soon as the loneliness takes you, as soon as you have decided that you are alone in the world, then it's difficult to return.

She knows this because she was alone before she met Hal.

And now f she loses him again they will both fall into loneliness and it isn't likely that either will return from it this time.

She manages a small smile.

"Come with me," she says calmly. "Take my hand." she extends it to him.

His eyes settle down upon it and he wants to take it, he wants to hold her hand and let her take him away from this, let her lead him away from everything.

But he can't do that to her, he can't be selfish with her.

"Just you and me, Hal. Just you and me." she says. "Come with me and we won't look back."

How the words entice him, lure him in, shout at him to accept, to come with her and never look back on the disaster he has created.

But he refuses because it's what's best for her, for everyone, she just can't see it yet.

"Stop the bus." Hal instructs.

Tector glances back briefly at Hal before setting his eyes back on the road.

He doesn't stop the bus.

"Tector, stop the bus." Hal repeats.

"Don't stop the bus." Logan orders.

"Tector, don't." Anne adds in.

"Hal." Tom steps closer.

He had only lifted his eyes away from Hal to check on his other son's.

"If you're my son, if this is my son that I'm speaking to, if you're still in there – Don't do this. You know that this is wrong. It isn't the right thing. You know that. You've always been able to determine what is right and what isn't." Tom pleads, his voice cracking, despair painted on his face.

"Stop the bus." Hal repeats.

"Hal." Maggie says, softly.

But he doesn't hear her, he doesn't hear anyone as he drags Pope down towards the front of the bus.

Logan steps towards Hal, gun aimed at him, eyes dark and firmly set on Hal.

"You don't want to be doing this, son." Logan says.

"Go on." Hal says, "Shoot me. But if you pull your trigger I'll pull mine, and a boy will be left without his father."

Pope stiffens up.

"Don't you dare pull that trigger." Pope shouts at Logan. "Don't you dare." he repeats angrily, shouting directly at Logan like he isn't worried about Hal pulling the trigger on his own.

"Open the door." Hal repeats.

Tector, who has stopped the bus, glances briefly over Hal and Pope but doesn't move to open the doors.

"You don't want to do that." Logan says.

Tector stays still.

Hal presses the gun in deeper into Pope's skin.

"Open it, Tector. Open the goddamn door!" he exclaims angrily.

Tector opens the door, despite Logan's attempt to stop him.

Hal drags Pope down the stairs, his body aching as he does, his legs threatening to collapse.

While keeping the gun to Pope's temple, he looks around quickly at his surroundings and chooses where he will go in a matter of seconds.

Logan steps off the bus followed closely by Maggie.

"Hal." she says with a darker tone. "Don't."

But he doesn't answer her because he can't.

"If I'm followed I'll kill him." Hal threatens, with a low and slightly shaky tone.

There is no denying that Hal isn't well enough to be up, he is almost at the point of collapsing but he can't stop.

"And you'll die." Logan replies quickly. "You don't want that, do you, son? You don't want to die."

Hal doesn't answer Logan, instead he repeats his following threat.

"If I'm followed, I will kill him." he shouts.

His eyes lock once more with a familiar pair of brown eyes, his love's brown eyes, and he feels a flicker of a feeling return, a feeling that isn't rage or pain, but he lets it die out because he has to do this.

He has to seek vengeance on the aliens, for then and only then he believes that he can find peace, he can feel again, he can live once more.

But what he fails to realize is that the path of vengeance and revenge is usually only one way – there is no path home.

* * *

**A/N: Hi all, my patient and kind readers.**

**I'm going to start this note by apologising for the lateness of this update. It's taken me so long and I'm sorry. Life got very busy for me. Then, when I finally found free time to write I hit a wall and I was stuck for nearly two weeks. But I found a break through and nearly wrote this whole chapter in a day. I'm so sorry for the wait. I hope you still enjoy it. Knowing that you have waited so long for this update means a lot to me and reaffirms the idea that the people who read this story are the best.**

**I hope you enjoy this new chapter. I apologise for any spelling errors.**

**On another but not entirely unrelated note...WHO IS EXCITED FOR SEASON 3?! :)  
It's going to be one intense season. Not much of a wait now!**

**- Guest reviews:**

**Dear Victoria; 5/9/13: chapter 70:  
**Hi, Victoria :) Wow. Thank you so much. It's such a compliment to read that you thought it was brilliant, your review truly made me smile so thank you. It was very sad and ironic that Tom, who loves his son so dearly, can't believe with certainty that it is his son. This will come more into play over the coming chapters (Tom's disbelief and distrust of his son.) Awww. Thank you so much. The scene when Hal said he was done was a very emotional and touching scene to write for me so I'm very relieved it was conveyed as that. Thank you so much. Truly, your words are so kind and it makes me so happy that you felt all of the emotions I was hoping would come through. She won't give up on Hal, even after everything they've been through. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. I hope that you enjoy reading this new chapter.

**Dear Nichole; 5/21/13: chapter 70:  
**Hello, Nichole :) I'm very happy to read that you love my story. It means so very much to me. Thank you very much for reading and reviewing my story, it means so much to me. I do hope that you enjoy this new update and I apologise for the lateness and promise I will try my hardest to update quicker. Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy.

**Dear Guest; 5/29/13: chapter 42:  
**Hi, guest :) Thank you for reading and reviewing my story. It really means a lot to me. I'm just guessing that you're asking for an update after chapter 70, and if so here it is. I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

**I'd just like to personally thank:  
deamonmaster21, DriftingCloudz, Victoria, RiseOfTheLemming, CherryTootsiePop, JoyScott13, Nichole, Geekman-1, ZabuzasGirl, Clara Oswin Oswald, dodgerxrita and the lovely reviewers who post as Guest.**

**Your words are inspiring and kind and I love waking up to read your reviews, they always leave me smiling, so thank you for sharing your thoughts and being enthusiastic and supportive of my story.**

**Thank you all for reading and for staying with my story.**

**I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

**X**


	72. They took his soul

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

Hal leads Pope at gun point away from the med bus and towards a clearing at the very edge of the forest.

He drags him towards the clearing, barely managing to carry someone else's body weight on top of his own.

His body is still so raw, so damaged, and so weakened from the wounds of past encounters.

Hal has to fight to stay awake, his eyelids feel heavy and he feels himself struggling to focus on the ground beneath his feet.

Much to Hal's surprise and confusion, Pope does not struggle, he does not fight to break away and he does not say a single word.

He allows Hal to take him down further into the forest.

Hal believes Pope is allowing him to do this because he is waiting for an opportune moment to act and overpower him, and Hal dreads this moment for he knows with absolute and complete certainty that he would not win this fight against Pope.

Hal releases Pope finally, he shoves him forward slightly, raises the gun back to Pope's head and orders him to walk further into the forest until he is certain that they will not be seen.

But he knows that the Marines are either on foot, following after them, coming for Hal Mason's head, or they are discussing their options with the Captain.

"Don't know what you're achieving by waving 'round that gun, boy." Pope sighs.

Pope turns towards Hal with his hands raised slightly in the air and an impassive expression resting on his features.

Pope cannot deny that the boy looks like a mess with his rough and unkempt hair, blood shot and bruised eyes, and the scattered bruises, cuts and blood stains which cover most of his body.

It's a miracle he's standing on his own two feet.

Pope watches as a frown crosses over Hal's face.

"You won't shoot me, Mason Junior, you never planned to." Pope announces, cocking his head sideways. "Did you?" he asks.

Hal stays still, his bare chest wrapped with bandages heaving in and out.

His eyes skim over Pope but he says nothing.

"I know!" Pope declares, arms thrown up in the air. "I know this was your plan all along."

More silence follows.

"To escape." Pope adds.

"How?" Hal asks warily, wondering how Pope could know such things.

"The gun's empty." Pope smirks.

Hal releases a long shaky sigh.

He should have checked for bullets first.

"You don't understand-" Hal starts.

"Try me," Pope answers. "But be quick. Don't got much time."

"I have to leave to protect her." Hal says finally. "To protect all of you."

"Sure it ain't the bug making you leave?" Pope frowns suspiciously.

Hal doesn't answer that question because he doesn't have a definitive answer.

"I have to do the right thing by my family, by the Second Mass." Hal answers cryptically.

But Pope understands his words.

Pope's smile widens. "Ah. So you're going skitter hunting, hm?" he lifts an eyebrow.

If there is one thing in this world Pope loves to do it is hunting and killing skitters.

"Not just skitters." Hal answers.

And Pope knows what he means, even if he doesn't say it.

Hal's going after the aliens who did this to him, and that includes Karen. He wants answers, he needs them, and he needs his revenge on them. They have to pay for all of the lives they have taken.

"You know, I get it. Even if no one else will." Pope sighs. "They're just going to think you're crazy and strap you down again."

"You get it?" Hal asks.

Pope nods and coughs loudly. "I do." he mutters.

Then he steps towards Hal, eyes dangerous, expression dark.

"You ever put a gun to me again or you go near my boy and I'm gonna blow your damn head clean off your freakin' shoulders, and I won't hesitate. Got it?" Pope asks.

Hal nods slightly.

"Don't got much time..." Pope mutters, as he slowly begins to pat down the pockets of his clothes.

He pulls a small silver flask out of a pocket in his jacket and then he reveals a short handled knife with a long blade, which he found in the pocket of his pants.

"All I got." he says, extending the contents to Hal. "Flask has water." he adds.

Pope hesitates as he casts his eyes over Hal.

If he doesn't die from his wounds, or get killed by a skitter or a mech, he's going to freeze.

Pope groans loudly, curses, mutters something about the god-damn Mason family always being a pain in his backside, before he rips off his thick green jacket and holds it out to Hal.

"Real stupid plan, boy. Didn't think to put a freakin' shirt on first, did you?" Pope snaps.

Hal doesn't move.

"Take it." Pope loudly instructs.

Hal slowly takes the jacket.

He slides it on carefully over his shoulders, grimacing as he pulls it to the front of his chest and zips it shut.

He hadn't thought this through, hadn't thought of what he would need to survive out here alone.

Hal shoves the flask and knife into the pocket of the jacket.

"What way you headed?" Pope asks.

"West." Hal answers.

Pope nods. "Don't go too far West. I'll tell 'em you went South. Head back a couple miles an' you'll come across a gas station. Don't know what good you'll find in there but worth a try. Stay off the main roads. Now, get outta here before I change my god damn mind." he sharply says.

Hal turns away slowly, moving down a small bump in the ground until he reaches flat but rocky ground.

"Better move quick," Pope shouts out. "But Mason Junior..." he says.

Hal halts and turns around to find Pope watching him still.

"Better get your ass back here. If not for your father, whose gonna dry everyone crazy 'till you do, but for Maggie." Pope calls out.

Hal considers Pope's words.

He knows he can't come back until it's done.

But it could be done one day and he could return then.

"I will," he answers lowly. "One day."

* * *

Pope makes his way back towards the direction of the med bus.

He walks alone for only a few moments as he quickly comes across Captain Weaver and Logan.

"Pope." Weaver nearly exclaims.

He casts his eyes over Pope, who is limping.

But they don't know that Pope is putting on the limp.

"Where's the boy?" Logan asks roughly.

Pope turns towards the Captain.

"Went South, Captain" Pope replies, sighing heavily as he speaks.

He stops and breathes in sharply.

"Why'd he let you go?" Logan suspiciously asks.

"He wanted me to send a message back," Pope lies, because it's the only explanation he can think of.

"What was the message, Pope?" Weaver asks, his eyes narrowing on Pope.

"That he'll shoot whoever comes after him. Not right in the head, Captain. Must be the bug." Pope continues. "Best to leave him."

"Leave him out there to-" Logan starts.

"What the hell you think he's going to do? You saw the state of him, didn't you? He ain't well. He ain't gonna make it through the night." Pope answers.

"What are you suggesting, Pope?" Weaver questions, his eyes staying firm on Pope.

"What I'm suggesting, Captain, is that we let nature take its course." Pope replies.

"What the hell does that mean?" Maggie asks, appearing suddenly behind Weaver.

All three men turn towards her.

She is geared up with weapons and a back-pack, ready to leave.

"Margaret.." Weaver sighs.

"What it means, Maggie-May, is that he doesn't want to be here, it means we leave him to do what he pleases. He said he'll kill anyone that comes after him. We'll all be better off if we leave him to his own devices." Pope replies.

For some reason, Pope feels the need to give Hal a head-start. Perhaps it's because he wants Hal to find the skitters, and the aliens, and kill all of them. Or perhaps it's because Pope believes if he were in Hal's situation he'd want a head-start.

"I'm going after him." Maggie says loudly. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

"He knows perfectly well what he's doing." Pope counters.

"We need to think about this tactically." Logan announces.

"Tactically?" Pope snorts. "You mean, you need to think about the best way to take him down? Oh. Bad move." he says, his eyes flickering towards the almost stone cold Maggie.

The expression she wears on her face is that of a hardened one that is almost unreadable.

But Pope can see the few flashes of rage that lies beneath.

He swallows tightly and tilts his head back slightly, ready to watch the next few moments unfold.

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but didn't this same man just take you hostage?" Logan asks. "He's a danger-"

"No, he's not. Not any more." Pope answers sharply. "He said he was heading South. Didn't want anything to do with the Second Mass. Said he was done."

Maggie sets her eyes down slowly onto the muddy ground beneath her feet.

He told her he was done.

But he told her he would fight it for her.

"You let him leave." she says, her voice dangerously low.

She slowly meets Pope's gaze and waits silently for his response.

"Good riddance, I say." Pope answers.

"We need to-" Logan starts.

"Return to the med bus, First Sergeant Hatchet." Weaver instructs.

Logan doesn't move.

"Captain, with all due respect, Hal Mason still carries the bug in his mind. It has not yet been removed. He is a threat all of us." Logan states.

"A threat that is no longer among us." Pope replies, quickly.

Maggie's eyes remain set on Pope's.

"We are not safe here, on the road. We will continue going forward until we find shelter. And then, and only then, will we decide on our next actions."

"You can't just leave him." Maggie says.

"The safety of our civilians is our priority." Weaver says, "We need to get them off the road."

"What about Hal's safety?" Maggie questions.

And then she understands the Captain's words.

Hal is the threat that the Captain wants to protect his civilians from.

She exhales loudly, taking a slight step away. "I'm going after him."

"Margaret," Captain Weaver says, "Once shelter has been found, I promise you we will go after him. Hal Mason is a member of the Second Mass. We have never and will never forget that."

But even with words such as these, words that are intended to be reassuring, Maggie does not feel reassured. She does not feel safer, she does not feel comfortable about leaving Hal Mason alone, but still she agrees to Weaver's suggestion.

She only agrees because she knows it will be easier for her to commandeer a bike, supplies, and weapons once they are at a secure location.

Then, she will leave for him.

She will return to the place where she lost him and she will go after him.

"If anything happens to him, it's on your heads." Maggie snaps, glancing briefly between Captain Weaver and Pope.

She turns and leaves them, retracing her earlier footsteps towards the med bus.

She comes across Tom, whose expression is that of a worried one. He walks side by side with Dai and Ben. When he spots Maggie, he turns towards her.

But the flicker of hope on his features disappears when she returns alone.

"Captain's ordering our return to the bus. Until we find a secure location for the civilians." Maggie states, the bitterness ringing of her tone.

Tom sighs heavily and lifts his head to his hands.

Dai places a sympathetic hand on Tom's shoulder.

"We'll find him, Tom." Dai murmurs.

"What happened, with Pope?" Ben asks.

Maggie glances slowly towards Ben, her expression still cold and hardened.

She says nothing.

"Dad?" Matt calls out, from the stairs on the med bus on which he stands upon.

Tom turns quickly to his son.

"Did you find Hal?" Matt asks.

"Not yet. But we will." Tom answers, despair clinging to his low tone.

"And if we don't?" Maggie asks.

Tom's head snaps back towards her.

Tom sighs. "We will. We have to believe we will."

"You know what, Tom? I'm sick of believing, and having hope, in the good things of this world. What good is left? What is there to believe in? Believing that things will just work out is a waste of time. Because they don't work out and there's not much good left." Maggie snaps back sharply.

Maggie is beyond the point of being tired.

Her mind and body are exhausted with a worry that will not cease and a pain that has never truly faded away.

She wants Hal Mason back but he's gone and she's doubting herself and she's doubting him.

She doubts his ability to return to her, she doubts his strength to survive out there alone, but above all she doubts his desire to return.

He wanted to leave.

He spoke of it constantly, about how he would be better off without them, how they would continue to live without him, and yet she never believed he would leave, she never believed she would let him leave but he left and she couldn't stop him.

She was helpless, and Maggie hates feeling helpless.

"All we have is our hope, Maggie, and our belief that one day this world that we have fought so hard for could be better." Tom replies softly.

Maggie nearly scoffs.

"And what about your son, who you once fought so hard for?" she asks loudly.

"I'm still fighting for Hal. I'll always fight for him, and all of my boys." Tom replies. "Always."

"You stopped fighting for Hal at the library, when he fitted." Maggie replies. "You doubted him when he begged you to believe him! You believe in the greater good of a messed up world which we will probably never recover but you don't believe in your own flesh and blood. Hal never had a chance without his family behind him."

Tom sighs. "Maggie, I-"

"His family was always behind him." Ben cuts in.

Maggie shakes her head sadly.

"Nah..." she says, her voice much lower now. "Standing at a distance doesn't count."

And with those words she leaves, she leaves because she doesn't want to be here, because she doesn't want to talk about this with Tom, because she doesn't' want to have this argument again.

Maggie knows that she doubted Hal in the past, while he was controlled, but when they learnt it was a bug she never left his side. It was difficult. She told him it could never be the same between them, she knows it can never truly be the same, but that doesn't mean they couldn't get a small fragment back of who they were before and what they had.

What they had was something she never felt before, it was something she knew she would never feel before, and she sadly knew that they didn't get to explore that, to explore what they had. They could have had so much more, felt so much more, and they could have been happy.

But happiness is not something that comes easily in this world, this world surrounded by death and destruction, alien invasions and attacks, painful pasts and constant danger.

The world is not safe but he made it feel safe, the world is not as good as it once was but he made it feel better, the world is not peaceful but he gave her peace.

She should have known it was goodbye.

She knows it now, but she won't take it as a goodbye because she will find him and she'll bring him back and they'll have the life they never lived, they'll get the chance they never got, and they'll survive this.

Tom asks Weaver if he can have a moment with his sons before they restart the movement of the vehicles.

Weaver gives him a few minutes, and only a few minutes because despite that he knows Tom needs to talk to Ben and Matt privately about this he knows that they need to find shelter.

Tom guides Ben and Matt a few feet away from the med bus, which all who were previously off it have returned to.

Matt is almost at the point of tears when Tom turns to him.

He embraces Matt tightly and holds him silently for a moment, before he presses a kiss to the top of his son's head.

"It's okay, Matt. It's going to be okay." Tom promises.

But Matt has heard this so many times before.

He has lost his brother's so many times, too many times, before this. But this time it was different. There were times in the past where Matt had been frightened by Hal's actions, but he had forgiven him, he had moved past them, he had forgotten them because he knew that it wasn't Hal, there was always an explanation behind it, but this time there was no explanation.

He couldn't understand why Hal would put a gun to Pope's head, he couldn't understand why they wanted to chain his brother down and why they spoke to him like he wasn't Hal, but above all Matt couldn't understand why Hal would want to voluntarily leave his family behind.

Hal promised he'd always come back to him but he never really did.

Matt breaks away from his father's arms.

"What's going on with Hal? Why was he-why is he..." Matt starts, his breathing becoming heavy in a matter of seconds. "I want to know the truth."

"Matt..." Tom soothingly sighs.

"Dad." Ben cuts in.

Tom turns towards Ben.

"He should know, he has a right to know." Ben murmurs lowly.

And despite that Tom doesn't want Matt to know this, to learn the truth, he knows he cannot keep this from Matt any more.

Ben is right; Matt has a right to know the truth.

But sometimes the truth is so difficult to speak of.

Tom wants to tell Matt, to share the truth, to tell him why Hal has been acting so differently but he finds himself, at first, at some sort of loss for words.

Words fail him but they don't fail Ben.

"Matt.." Ben softly starts.

He kneels down so he is at Matt's eye-level.

"You know how Dad had that bug in his eye, for a while?" Ben asks.

Matt nods quickly but otherwise stays completely silent.

Tom watches on silently.

"Well, something similar happened to Hal." Ben says.

Matt cautiously glances between his brother and father.

"Is your bug back?" Matt asks.

Tom shakes his head. "No, it's not, Matt. It's not back." he says finally.

Matt turns to Ben. "Is Dad's bug inside of Hal?"

Ben sighs softly before sharing a silent exchange with his father.

"No, Matt." Ben answers. "Do you remember when we were in Charleston, and we went to the warehouse?"

"Yeah." Matt nods, speaking with a much quieter voice.

"And Hal was hurt?" Ben asks.

Tom swallows tightly and briefly shuts his eyes.

The pain of that day is still fresh in his memory.

He remembers feeling helpless as his son's were threatened and hurt, as his friends were hurt and injured, and those he cared for were almost taken from him.

That day is forever burned into the memory of all of those there, and try as they will they can never truly forget it. They haven't forgotten about it, they just don't speak of it.

Matt simply nods.

"Hal was hurt badly. He was unconscious for a long time. Do you remember?" Ben asks.

"Yeah." Matt says.

Tom kneels down beside Ben, his eyes set firmly on Matt.

"Hal wasn't himself after that." Tom says.

Matt glances between his father and his brother.

"Did he get a bug inside him at the warehouse?" Matt asks.

Tom nods, his eyes burning.

He still feels so helpless when he thinks of all that he has failed to do for his boys, all he failed to do for Hal, and how he failed to notice that Hal wasn't Hal.

Tom tries to keep control over his overpowering emotions for the sake of his boys, for he wants them to believe in the hope that each new days hold, even if his own belief in new days diminishes with each passing day.

"I don't understand." Matt frowns slightly. "Your bug came out. You were okay."

"I know I was but they're different bugs.." Tom answers, exhaling heavily.

Tom never believed he would be living in a world such as thing, explaining to his youngest son why and how his older brother was controlled by a bug which was actually the Espheni.

Tom sighs again.

"The bug was controlling Hal. It was like...At the warehouse, after Hal was hurt, he fell asleep. And he was asleep ever since." Tom says.

"Has he woken up yet?" Matt asks quietly.

Tom sadly shakes his head. "Not completely. But he's almost awake, he's almost back."

"Where is he now?" Matt asks, more tears welling in his eyes.

"We don't know, Matt." Ben answers, settling a soft hand on his brother's shoulder. "We don't know where he is but we will find him, I promise."

"No." Matt nearly cries out, shoving his brother's hand away as he does.

He backs away from Tom and Ben.

"Matt.." Tom sighs heavily.

"No." Matt repeats. "Hal promised. He promised he'd come back, at Charleston. But he didn't. And-And I miss him so much. And he's gone again. And you promised we'd be a family again but we haven't been in so long." Matt cries.

Tom's eyes shut briefly as hot, salty tears slide down his face. He wipes them away quickly, they fall unnoticed by his son's and for that Tom is glad for he still wishes that they hold hope even in the darkest moments.

Hope can get them through this, together, as a family.

"Matt," Tom says softly.

He stands and steps towards Matt.

"I promise you, Hal will come back to us. He always does." Tom whispers softly.

Matt shakes his head. "What if he doesn't?"

"He will. I won't stop until he does." Tom replies, with more confidence.

Matt allows his father to pull him into an embrace and hold him tightly.

"I promise you..." Tom says, with a rough voice. "I'll get Hal back. I promise."

* * *

Anne finds Tom outside of the bus, moments after Ben and Matt had entered. Matt sat up the back of the bus, with Benjamin, Joseph and Henry, while Ben sat with a kind and reassuring Lourdes.

But words meant little when his brother was out there alone.

Weaver tells Tom that they have one minute before they have to get back on the road, because it's too risky sitting out here in plain sight.

Anne and Tom only have minutes but that's all that they need.

She embraces Tom tightly, gently rubbing his back as she does. She allows him to place his weight onto her, to rest upon her, to lay his head upon her shoulder.

"I'm exhausted, Anne..." he sighs.

"I know." she whispers soothingly. "It'll be over soon. It will, Tom, and I promise you...When it's over you'll forget what you felt like before."

"I don't think I can forget it, Anne. I don't.." he replies softly.

"You can never forget it entirely. But it'll become easier with time, I promise. You don't have to do this alone." she answers, still holding him tightly.

"I know I don't. But I feel like I have to. This is my fault, Anne. Maggie was right." he announces, breaking the embrace as he speaks.

Tom takes a slight step away and meets Anne's sympathetic and pained gaze.

"I stood at a distance, Maggie's right. I was cautious because I didn't know if it was my son and he was- god. Hal was begging me to believe him and I couldn't. I couldn't believe him, Anne. What does that say about me as a parent?" Tom asks, his pained voice ringing through the air.

"You tried, Tom, but this isn't what we – we were never prepared for this, as parents." Anne replies. "We weren't prepared for this world. It's different. Don't doubt yourself, Tom. You love your boys, you would do anything for them, I know that and they know it too. Hal was controlled by the alien, the Overlord. We lost him for a while but I know we'll get him back."

"I want to believe that but I can't, Anne." Tom sadly admits.

"My family has fallen apart and I don't know what to do." Tom sadly admits, distress falling upon his unshaven and tired features.

"I don't even know if I can piece it back together. My boys..They've been through hell and I couldn't stop it, I couldn't protect them. I tried. I tried with all of my heart and all of my soul to do what was best for them, to protect them and give them the life that they deserved. But I have failed. I have failed myself, I have failed Rebecca. Hal is out there alone. He is not well. He is injured and there is a bug in his head. I have failed on so many levels. And I want to give up, I do, but I can't. I know I can't give up on them. I could never." he says.

Anne breathes out softly as she takes Tom's hand in her own and holds it tightly.

"There's the Tom I know, the Tom I love. He's in there, somewhere." she says, lifting her right hand to his cheek and gently soothing the skin.

His eyes shut at the touch, and stay shut for only a moment before he opens them to find her watching him still.

"He's just hurt, he's confused, and he feels guilty, he feels like there is no hope but then he looks inside his heart, his good heart, and he knows that there is always hope. Hold onto that hope, Tom. It's all we have. You told me that before, I listened to you, I believed you and I still do now. Believe in yourself, believe in your sons, and believe that he will come back to you and it will happen. You've never given up when things were difficult before, there's no reason for you to give up this time." she softly tells him.

And he wants to believe her, more than anything he wants to believe her words and a small part of him does.

He loves his boys with everything that he has, with every part of his being and his existence, and nothing can truly keep them apart.

The vehicles of the Second Mass travel for a few more miles until those travelling at the front locate an area which they may set up in; an empty, abandoned warehouse.

They won't stay here for long, Captain Weaver announces, only until they can recuperate, recover, and until the scouts sent out can find a more appropriate and securer place to set up.

Weaver meets with Tom and discusses the possibility of sending out a search party. Volunteers only, Weaver announces, because he won't force anyone to go.

Captain Weaver calls upon the fighters, outside of the warehouse.

The group forms silently and waits for the Captain's word.

"As I'm sure you're all aware of, Hal Mason has fallen behind. And we do not let our fellow soldiers fall behind. However, his decision to leave was not forced upon him but rather a voluntary one. I, for one, do not believe Hal is in the right head-space at the moment." Weaver says, pausing briefly as he casts his eyes over the soldiers before him.

Weaver shares a brief, silent exchange with Tom before he continues talking.

"He is a young man who has been through difficult times, as we all have been. Despite all that he has done he is one of our own, he has been with us from the start and I would very much like to see him with us at the end of this. I won't force any soldier to go, as it was Hal's decision to leave, but I will allow a small party of volunteer fighters to go out in search of Hal. You have until night falls, for we do not know what lurks in these woods and we do not have the strength that we did days earlier." Weaver loudly announces.

Silence falls after Weaver's words.

"Those of you who are in, step to the side." Weaver says.

Maggie steps to the side within seconds of Weaver's words.

She won't be talked out of this, despite that her body is weaker than it once was, her wounds are still in the process of healing and she risks causing herself further pain and injury by being out there.

"I'm in." Isaac announces.

Maggie glances slowly towards Isaac, who appeared out from the warehouse and by her side only seconds ago.

Logan steps forward. "You are not, brother. You're not well." he says.

His brother is ill, the last thing that he needs is to be out searching for Hal Mason.

"I am in." Isaac replies, taking his stance slowly by Maggie's side.

She turns to him slowly, finding she doesn't have the words to thank him, or any words at all.

Weaver looks down upon Isaac and speaks.

"You don't have to do this, son." Weaver says, knowing full well about Isaac's medical condition.

"But I do, Captain. Those who fall behind should never be left behind." Isaac answers, with a somewhat shaky voice.

Tom and Ben joins Maggie and Isaac's side.

"Can count me in.." Joseph calls out, as he makes his way slowly over to the small group.

Ben joins next, followed by Tector, Anthony and Dai.

Their group is small but it's all they need.

They are all weakened in some way, injured somehow, but they won't allow Hal to be left behind.

"As I said, you are all to return by nightfall. That is an order." Weaver says.

"You will not go in?" Isaac asks, his eyes locking with his brother.

Logan steps stiffly towards his brother.

"You should not be going out at all." Logan says, with a lowered tone.

"You should be. There is a man left behind." Isaac counters.

"Perhaps it is best for all if he is left behind." Logan replies. "Are you not forgetting he almost killed each of us here?"

"Are you not forgetting that he is a son, a brother, and a friend to these people?" Joseph cuts in. "Come on, love, show a little compassion. Show a little humanity."

"The least you can do is assist us." Isaac asks. "Please, brother. If it were I out there, you would want to search, you would want others to help, wouldn't you?"

Logan swallows tightly.

"No." Maggie says, firmly and loudly.

Logan turns back towards her.

"I don't want him going anywhere near Hal." she coldly says.

"The more people we have searching-" Tom starts.

"He almost put a bullet in Hal's head. If you send him out there, he could wind up with a bullet in his." she threatens.

"We're in." Broderick announces.

Broderick meets Maggie's gaze slowly and nods, silently telling her he'll protect Hal.

"We are all in." Broderick says. "We don't leave the fallen behind, and we don't harm them. We rescue them."

Logan nods curtly.

Pope recalls his earlier conversation with Hal as he stands to the side.

He exhales slightly, as he thinks on where Mason Junior is right now.

"Er..." Pope starts, lowly.

He coughs. "Don't know how much good I'm gonna be, but 'spose we could have a look." he says, glancing towards Lee and Lyle.

Tom's eyes flicker towards Pope, the smallest amount of appreciation flickering in them, before he turns his attention back towards the Captain.

Captain Weaver repeats, loudly, "Return by nightfall."

* * *

Hal struggles forward, walking back towards the direction in which Pope told him the gas station would be. He hasn't come across it so far or perhaps he has and he missed it.

Hal isn't in a good place, physically or mentally.

He continues to sweat despite the chilling air that escapes through the holes in the jacket and hits his body harshly. He fears that his constant sweating, and the fever that he feels coming on, is a result of an infection.

If his body were infected he doesn't know where to begin looking for the source of it, and he doesn't have any medication to heal himself.

All he has are a few bullets, a knife and a flask.

He isn't well, he knows this, and he also knows that this probably was one of the worst decisions he could make but Hal knew he was running out of time on that bus.

He was running out of time to act.

He fears if he had stayed longer on the bus, if he had stayed with Maggie for just a day longer, he would have changed his mind. He would have chosen her, he would have chosen to stay with her instead of tracking down the aliens, so that was why he had to leave now.

He doesn't even know how he'll find them but a part of Hal believes the aliens are likely to find him considering the bug is still in his mind.

He doesn't feel like himself.

Hal lost control of his own mind and body for so long that he doesn't believe he has it back now, he doesn't know if he can ever believe he is in control of if the aliens are controlling him to believe he's in control.

He feels helpless and alone but above all of it he feels guilty.

He wants all of it to be over, he wants to return to who he was, he wants his old life to return to him, and he wants to be himself.

He wants to be the person he once was, the man he tried to be in his father's absence, he wants to be the brother he always should have been and the partner to Maggie he never had the chance to be.

But to achieve all of these things, he needs time and peace but both of those once simple things are almost unattainable for him but they are still there, he still has a chance, a hope in regaining all that he once lost.

He still has a flicker of hope, of light, and of the person he was before, deep down inside.

One day, he could be better, feel better, and be the person he once was, the person the Second Mass needs him to be, the brother and son that his family deserves, and the fighter they need back to help win this war.

But one day seems so far away when you're standing in the cold emptiness of an unfamiliar land, shivering, attempting to find some distraction from the overwhelming pain that has never left him.

The hope of that one day might be enough to get him through.

But as Hal stumbles forward and falls upon his knees, his weary eyes shutting as he does, he thinks to himself - is hope _really_ enough?

* * *

**A/N: Hello :)  
Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story, it means so much to me. To those who review, your words are always so kind and great to see. Thank you all. :) **

**I have yet to watch the Season 3 premiere (It doesn't air in Australia for two more days) so please no spoilers yet. :3**

**A special thanks to; DriftingCloudz, dodgerxrita, JoyScott13, CherryTootsiePop, Geekman-1, deamonmaster21, 5-STAR, RiseOfTheLemming, Sunset Mission, vintage101. (If I've missed anyone I'm sorry, I'm writing this A/N late and sort of in a rush because I want to post something here for you guys)**

**Dear Guest Reviewers;**

**Guest: 6/6/13: chapter 1:  
**Hi :) thank you for reading and reviewing my story, I'm very happy to see that you love it. That honestly means so much to me. We don't have our break yet here in Australia BUT in around two weeks, I get holidays and I'm going to have heaps of time off so I'm going to be posting really frequently. Thanks a lot. Reading your review made me smile. x

**Victoria: 6/6/13: chapter 71:  
**Dear, Victoria :) Wow. Thank you so, so much. I am so relieved that the emotions I was trying to convey came through as well as they did. I was actually quite emotional writing that past chapter, so it's good that the emotions were conveyed through to the reader. Thanks for letting me know that. Wow, your review really made me feel great. Thank you. Tom will always be by Hal's side but he was doubting himself, and Hal, because of the Espheni and I think that the only way I could really show how strong Maggie and Hal's bond is was by showing how she will stand by him through everything, even when no one else does. I'm really happy and relieved to read that I've portrayed a strong relation between the two, thank you. I think all of my readers are wonderful, I always love reading their thoughts and replying. Wow. Honestly, your words are so kind and overwhelmingly flattering. Thank you. I hope you enjoy this next update. It was a pleasure hearing from you again. x

**Guest: 6/4/13: chapter 1:  
**Hello :) I'm sorry it's taken me a little while to update but here it is. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Haha, aw I'm sorry to distract you from your semester exams. Good luck with your exams! I have my own coming up soon, so I'm trying to pre-write chapters so I can still update. I'm so happy you love this story, reading that means a lot to me. Hal will get better. I promise. I just can't tell you how and why otherwise I'd spoil.

Oh yeah, about that (season 3) I'm not going to incorporate anything from Season 3 in this story (Safe and Sound) BUT I do have a second story (which I've finished about three chapters on) which picks up from the Season two finale and I'm starting from the day after the finale. I hope you find both of these stories exciting & thanks for reading. x

* * *

**I apologise for any spelling mistakes. **

**I hope you enjoy.**

**And as always, thank you.**

**X**


	73. Find a way to return to my bones

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

When Hal makes it to the gas station he finds that it has almost been cleared out entirely, that parts of the building have been destroyed, and it almost seems like someone took shelter in it for some time as there are scattered fragments of rubbish throughout it.

He finds nearly nothing of use, with the exception of a closet in which he finds two towels and a small unopened tin of canned pineapples.

Hal decides to take shelter in the station for now, he won't rest here for the night but he needs a moment for his body to recover.

He rolls one of the towels up and places it on the ground in the closet, he lowers his body down slowly, grasping the walls with his hands so to slide himself down.

He eases himself down slowly ontthe ground, unable to spread his legs out or lay flat on the ground due to the small size of the closet. He's safer in here than he is out in the main area of the station.

He groans loudly, pressing his lips together to stop himself from nearly crying out with pain, as he sets his body down against the dirty cold floor.

Hal lies on his side, placing his head slowly down against the towel, he releases a deep sigh that causes his entire body to shudder before he pulls the second towel over his body and covers himself with it.

His eyes shut slowly, almost reluctantly, and as they do he tries to calm himself, to convince himself that he's not going to die alone in this closet.

He tries to picture something good, something real, something to keep him from falling into a sleep he knows he could never wake from.

He sees his brother's before his closed eyelids, they are surrounded by light, laughing, running around, running towards him and calling out his name.

A smile forms on Hal's lips without him even realising it had.

Cold tears trickle down the side of his face but he doesn't notice them, he forgets about his reality and allows fragments of his past to return to him.

He is so relieved to find these fragments that he doesn't want to return to reality, for he never believed a day would come when a clear image would return to him.

Despite that he can't remember where they are, in the memory of him and his brother's, he can see their faces and that's all he needs.

He just needs them again.

The image shifts before disappearing entirely.

Emptiness and reality return and he finds himself feeling worse.

He shuts his eyes tightly and focuses.

He tries to focus on something real, something good, something true.

But he doesn't know what is true or what isn't.

So, Hal tries something else.

He tries to focus on something gold.

Gold like her hair, gold like her heart.

It comes to him slowly.

The image starts off as blurry and it disappears several times, he sighs with frustration but he doesn't give up.

A part of his mind wants to remember it, his heart needs to, but there's still a part of him fighting it.

The memories don't want to return to him, they want to leave him to his dreary and painfully empty reality, and eventually he gives up.

Hal gives up because he's tired, he's tired of fighting a losing battle, he's tired of fighting for memories that don't return, he's tired of fighting for someone he doesn't even know exists inside of him any more.

He's tired and he needs rest.

* * *

The fighters are split into four groups, each divided different portions and specific locations to search.

The first group that leaves on the motorbikes consists of Maggie, Tector, Dai and Isaac.

The second group, which holds Tom, Anthony, Joseph and Ben leave next, in one of the trucks.

The third group which leaves consists of Broderick, Logan, Ronald and Conor leave in the Humvee.

Pope, Lee and Lyle, the fourth and last group, leave last on their motorbikes.

Weaver repeats the same order as they leave; the must return by nightfall.

Just as the sky begins to darken outside, Maggie's group comes across what appears to be an abandoned gas station.

They decide to check inside, because Hal could have come back here.

They don't know that he still rests inside the small closet, as he has not yet found the strength to move forward.

They enter the station slowly, weapons readied but not to protect themselves against Hal but rather against the possible skitters or aliens that may be hidden within the store.

Dai leads the way, followed closely by Isaac, Tector and Maggie.

They split up.

Maggie and Isaac take the right side of the store while Tector and Dai take the left.

Dai notices, as he nears a small closet door, that the door is slightly ajar.

He readies himself for what may lie behind it as he grips the handle, twists it and opens the door.

Dai opens the door to find Hal Mason, resting half curled up on the ground, looking exhausted.

Dai finds himself at a loss for words as he locks his eyes with Hal's.

Hal says nothing either, knowing that Dai is not alone.

"You find anythin' in there?" Tector calls out loudly, his footsteps coming back down towards Dai.

Dai doesn't hesitate.

"Nope. Didn't find anything in here." Dai yells back.

"What about you?" Dai shouts out.

As he speaks, he slowly pulls his second gun out of the holster around his chest. Then he reaches for the pocket knife in his pants. He bends forward, places the two weapons on the ground before Hal, and nods ever so slightly at Hal before he stands up again.

"You okay, brother?" Dai whispers.

Hal nods slightly.

"Nope, nothing." Tector shouts back.

"There's nothing here." Dai says, before re-closing the door on Hal.

Hal rests on the floor with his eyes shut, as he attempts to steady his breathing.

Then, he hears Maggie's voice and his eyes open immediately.

"Damn it!" she shouts. "He's not here."

"He'll be somewhere, Maggie." Tector replies. "Can't have disappeared like that."

"He can if the damn aliens got him." Maggie snaps back.

"Maggie, we'll find him. Someone will. But, I'm real sorry – we have to head back. Nightfall is coming and we can't go against the Captain's orders. Especially after that attack, we just made it through. It's not safe." Tector answers.

"To hell with the Captain's orders!" she replies sharply. "I'm not letting him fall behind. And I'm not going anywhere until I find him. I lost him before and I'm not going through that again."

"Maggie..." Isaac softly starts. "We can't stay out here all night. It's not safe. Someone else might have found him. Why don't we just head back to base and see? We'll start there."

She swallows tightly and drops her gaze to the ground.

"We'll get him back, Maggie." Dai says reassuringly, placing a soft hand on Maggie's shoulder.

She releases a long sigh and shuts her eyes briefly.

"Fine." she says.

Maggie leaves the station without a word, without another glance back, and without knowing that she has done so she leaves Hal behind.

And Hal lets her go because it's better this way.

When night falls, most wish that it hadn't for they have recovered no sign, no path, and no trace of Hal Mason.

Tom returns with his group first, hoping to find another group here that might hold news of Hal, or have Hal with them, but he returns to find that none of the groups have returned yet.

He waits nervously and impatiently, barely able to stand still.

When the groups begin to return, he feels a small flicker of hope rise inside of himself.

And that hope fades away when he is informed by a member of each group that they didn't find Hal or any trace of him.

He is gone because he wants to be, Tom hears Logan say, and while he knows it is dangerous for him to be out there, he is a danger to himself as well as those around him, they should let it go for tonight.

Tonight they have to determine where the safest location is for the Second Mass to move to.

Tom leaves because he can't be around Logan right now.

He leaves because he needs to take a moment alone to breathe and think on his actions, to think on how and when he will leave in search of his son.

The groups split up on their return.

Some take their shifts to patrol or stand watch, others leave with the Captain or return to their tents to rest.

But Maggie doesn't go inside.

She follows Pope towards his bike.

When she reaches him, she grabs him tightly by the collar of his jacket and slams him back against his bike.

"What way did he go?" Maggie asks loudly.

Captain Weaver watches on from the side, observing their argument from afar.

"What the hell you talking about, Maggie?" Pope snaps back.

He tries to break free of her hold but her grip tightens.

She pushes him further against the bike, so he is leaning against it, and presses her body up against his.

"Well, ain't this cosy." he smirks, hoping it will cause her to back off.

But it doesn't.

"Jus' like old times." his smirk remains.

She doesn't back down, instead Maggie reaches into the back pocket of her jeans and pulls out her knife.

She presses the blade harshly underneath Pope's jaw.

"Still like old times.." Pope says.

"What way did he go?" she asks slowly.

"You ain't gonna hurt me, Maggie." Pope tells her. "Not in front of my kid, or yours."

"Just tell me what damn way he went, Pope." she says.

"I don't know, Maggie." Pope sighs. Guess I was a little preoccupied when he had that gun to my head."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Pope?" she eyes him off warily.

"Far from it." he honestly answers.

He thought she might figure it out.

Maggie lifts her head back slightly. "You don't keep your guns loaded half the time. That gun wasn't loaded. You knew it. I knew it to. If you did anything to him-"

"I didn't do a damn thing to him." Pope snaps back.

"What did you do?" she presses the knife in a little deeper.

"Wanna put that knife down, Mags, before you do something stupid." he nearly growls.

She holds his gaze for a moment before she takes a slight step away, shoving her knife into her back pocket.

"Where is he?" she repeats. "I won't ask again."

Pope releases a sigh and throws his hands up in the air. "Good. I'm getting tired of hearing it. Nobody likes re-runs, Maggie-May."

"Pope." she says sternly.

He sighs with clear annoyance, before he inches closer towards her.

"Between you and me?" Pope lifts an eyebrow.

She nods. "Fine."

"Boy went West." Pope says. "Told him to stop by a gas station fist. Pick up whatever he could."

Maggie narrows her eyes. "Why? Why would you let him go?"

A look of disbelief crosses Pope's face. "Do you really need me to list one reason, out of the hundred?! Okay. So one is – He had cooties in his brain. He still has them. He is a threat to us. I say good riddance."

"You're lying." she says. "You wouldn't let him walk away, if you wanted him to die you'd kill him."

He rolls his eyes before releasing a heavy sigh. "Look – I don't know what he's after, I don't know where he's going, but I do know that I do not give a damn about that boy. He's headed West, wherever the hell that leads him – I don't care. What you choose to do with this information is entirely up to you, Maggie, but best you know that sometimes it's better to let things go."

She frowns at this but says nothing.

"He's dead on his feet," Pope sighs. "If he makes it through tonight, he won't make it through tomorrow."

"If anything happens to him-" she starts.

Pope inches closer towards Maggie. "You can toss the blame around however the hell you want to, Maggie-May, but we both know where it lies. With the fish-head. With the blonde. With the cooties and all them other damn bugs. Not with me. Not with you. And, I cannot believe the words are actually passing my mouth, but not with Tom Mason."

* * *

Upon entering the med-bus, Lourdes finds Maggie sitting on the edge of the bed that Hal had previously rested on, like she was waiting for someone, like she was waiting for Hal.

Lourdes releases a soft sigh before she moves towards Maggie's side.

"Hey, Maggie." she smiles. "How are you doing?"

Maggie glances up quickly.

She lifts her hand to her forehead, brushes back her hair, before she manages a small smile.

"Not so good."

Lourdes crosses her arms. "Are you not feeling well?"

Maggie shakes her head once. "Uh...Nah. I'm not."

Lourdes glances briefly over the empty bus before she returns her gaze to Maggie.

"You want me to take a look?" she asks.

Maggie shakes her head. "I was hoping...I just – The pain is constant, Lourdes. It won't fade."

"I can't give you any more medication, Maggie. Anne prescribed all that she could. Perhaps, you should rest to ease your pain." Lourdes replies softly.

Maggie stands slowly from the bed.

"Nah. Don't worry about it." Lourdes moves as Maggie does, blocking her path.

"I think I know what this is about." Lourdes says.

Maggie lifts an eyebrow. "Really?"

Lourdes watches Maggie closely. "The last time you really came to me, when you asked for that cane, you left."

Maggie remains impassive, she gives nothing away.

"Yeah, so?" she replies coolly.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Lourdes asks. "To find Hal?"

Maggie says nothing.

"That's why..." Lourdes starts.

She turns away from Maggie and moves down towards the end of the med-bus. She picks up a green bag off of the seat and returns to Maggie's side.

"I put this together." Lourdes smiles.

Maggie frowns as she takes the bag slowly. "What is this?"

"It has clothes, for you and for Hal. A few flasks of water, a sleeping pack, the only food I could pull together. And, a few medical supplies. There's not much but I'm sure it'll be enough, until you come back to us." Lourdes says.

Maggie eyes her off warily. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're part of the Second Mass, because Hal is too even after everything that he's been through." Lourdes smiles. "And that's what we do. We all look out for each other."

Maggie smiles thankfully. "Lourdes.."

"It's okay." Lourdes smiles.

She steps towards Maggie and pulls her into a soft and careful embrace.

"Just promise me you'll take care of yourself, and of Hal." Lourdes says.

Maggie's smile remains.

She sets her hands down on Lourdes' back and holds her closer.

"I'll try my hardest."

Lourdes breaks the embrace. "Okay. You should go, Anne will be back soon. Just..Promise you'll come back."

Maggie nods. "Okay."

"Good luck." Lourdes smiles kindly.

She watches as Maggie moves slowly off of the med bus, and once she is gone Lourdes is left to wonder whether she will see Maggie or Hal ever again.

She did believe Maggie, as she said she'd take care of Hal, but Lourdes doesn't know if they will be able to return.

She can only have hope, that's all that anyone can have in this world.

After waiting quite some time to make sure the group had gone, Hal left the station.

He left it slowly, feeling only slightly better after a short nap and a small tin of pineapples. He followed winding paths, tricky slopes, and rocky ground slowly.

Only moments after leaving the station he was able to find a large branch, which he worked at and fixed with Pope's knife until he was able to strap it around his leg using shards of his shirt to do so.

He moves forward with such difficulty, such agony, as his body aches, the strength he once had and was once able to rely on fails him, and he feels himself growing weaker with each passing moment.

The darkness of the sky begins to deepen, to swirl closer towards him, to threaten to take him.

But he doesn't want it to.

He fights it.

He keeps moving forward with thoughts of what he might find on this path, this path that he hopes will lead him to those who did this to him, to those who hurt him, destroyed his life, took away the person he was and left him with a shadow.

His body sweats constantly, from the agony of walking as well as the fever that is slowly overcoming him, yet despite all this, despite that everything is against him as it has been for the past months, he finds it inside himself to move forward.

He moves forward for himself, because he needs this, but he moves forward for his family.

He isn't the man he was.

Hal Mason is no longer the soldier of the Second Mass that he once was. He is not the brother or son he once was, or the partner he should have been.

Hal Mason lost himself long ago.

He doesn't know who he is, or how he fits into this world.

He doesn't know if he could ever fit into it, with the remnants of his harness and the bugs in his mind.

He fears that Hal Mason is dead and for the first time in a very long time this thought scares Hal, it terrifies him, because he wants to be that person again, he's always wanted to be that person again, he just never believed that it was possible before.

Perhaps, he thinks that if he continues to follow this path, he might one day find himself on the way.

He might become himself again, he could feel something real, something strong, something that didn't revolve around anger or pain.

He could feel happy again, he could smile and mean it, he could feel free of this heavy guilt that rests upon his heavy and burdened shoulders.

Hal stumbles forward slightly, reaching for the tree beside him he rests upon it briefly and shuts his eyes.

And this is when he sees her, hears her voice, feels her life.

"_Stay with me, Hal,_" she whispered, pressing soft hands to his cheeks. _Stay with me, Hal. I love you, stay with me._

His words couldn't save him then, they can't save him now – but one day, once the bug is removed, once he has found her again, they could save him.

And he could save her.

The unexpected and sudden feeling of belief, the belief of this one day so far in the future, that he thinks of feels new to Hal as he hasn't felt anything remotely close to belief in months.

But he finds it now.

He finds that he has belief in himself, that he can find Karen and force her to remove the bug.

It is this belief which causes him to open his eyes.

But it is his belief in his family, in Maggie, that helps him take the next step forward.

* * *

Captain Weaver is the first person who notices Margaret's absence, and he is only the first because he expected that she would leave, a part of him knew that it was bound to happen.

He watched silently, from afar, as Maggie confronted Pope.

And it was then in that moment that his thoughts had been confirmed.

Pope knew more than he was letting on, and Weaver assumed that Margaret had been able to pull this information from Pope.

Weaver had always doubted Pope's story, that Hal had simply walked away, that he had threatened any member of the Second Mass that followed him, but above all of these things Captain Weaver doubted Hal's capability.

Hal Mason was a great fighter, an excellent one, but that was before when he was healthy, when he was strong, when he wasn't worn down by the struggles of pain and time.

He was weaker now, less capable than he once was, and Pope, despite the jerk that he was, had always been one hell of a fighter. If he had wanted to, Pope could have overpowered Hal with ease and dragged his body back.

But Pope didn't, and at first Weaver had thought this was because Pope didn't want Hal back at camp. But then he came to believe that it meant more than that.

"Pope," Weaver calls out, as he comes across Pope outside of his tent.

Pope glances up and sighs.

"Yes, Captain?" Pope replies, stepping towards him. "I was about to head in and see my boy. Can't this wait?"

"No, it can't, Pope." Weaver asks.

"Is something wrong, Pope?" Joseph, who had been passing by, asks.

"No. Not at all – Actually, Joseph, could you join me?" Weaver asks.

A deep frown forms on Pope's features. "What's going on, Captain? And what do you want from Thatch?"

"This is about Hal Mason." Weaver says.

"What about him?" Joseph asks, an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

Pope sighs and crosses his arms, like he knows what is about to come.

"And Margaret." Weaver adds.

"I don't know what you're hoping to gain from talking to us, Captain." Pope states.

"The truth, Pope." Weaver says.

Pope's mouth opens, like he might speak, but Weaver shuts him up by speaking quickly and loudly.

"I don't give a damn about what the truth is, Pope, but I think Tom would care. Actually, I think he'd care a lot. You know, Er...He's not in the best state right now. What, with Hal going missing and all. And I don't doubt that if he learnt that you stepped aside and let his son walk away, and then allowed Margaret to do the same thing, that Tom would be too happy. I know he wouldn't be. And when it comes to the safety of his family, Tom's not a reasonable man, is he?" Weaver says.

The frown that had been resting on Joseph's face deepens.

"Look, lad...I don't know a thing about that." Joseph says.

"I know you don't, but Pope does." Weaver replies.

"And so what? It doesn't change anything, does it?" Pope replies sharply.

"Actually, it does, Pope – it changes a hell of a lot. Come tomorrow morning, and you two are going off to find them." Weaver answers.

"I ain't doing that, Captain. As appealing as that offer sounds, I think I'll have to decline." Pope replies sharply.

Joseph shrugs. "Alright."

"What? What do you mean, 'alright'?" Pope frowns.

"What I mean by alright, love, is that I'm in. So long as you keep an eye out on my boy." Joseph says.

Weaver nods. "I can and will do that."

"Won't be so bad, will it, hm?" Joseph glances towards Pope.

"Uh, yeah. I think it will. I also think you've had one too many hits to the head, Thatch." Pope answers. "Tell me, Captain, what was the point of me letting Mason Junior waltz out of here if I'm just gonna go ahead and pull him back in, hm?"

"Like I said, Pope, I don't care about the reasons. I care about the members of the Second Mass. Hal Mason is one of us, however he also poses a threat to himself and those around him, including Maggie, if that bug is not removed from his head." Weaver says. "You're doing this, Pope, considering you are the one who let him free."

Pope glances around him before he turns towards Weaver. "Wouldn't really call what he's going after, or where he's going to, freedom. He won't be a threat to anyone if he doesn't make it through the night. And it's getting cold out."

Weaver pauses. "Thank you, for offering your services Joseph. And, Pope..You are doing this. It is a direct order. If you choose to refuse it, you choose to leave the Second Mass."

Silence passes.

"What's it gonna be, Pope?" Weaver crosses his arms.

Pope sighs. "Looks like me and you are going hunting for Masons." he turns to Joseph.

"You bring him back alive, Pope." Weaver instructs.

Pope returns his gaze to the Captain's. "I won't kill him." he lifts his hands up in the air. "I won't touch a damn hair on his alien infested head, but I can't speak for the cooties, and the fish-heads, out there. And I can't speak for whatever the hell the boy's got in his mind. I'll bring him back dead if I find him that way."

* * *

The night that comes is cold and harsh.

The iciness of the air soaks into his bones, his bones which ache with each movement he takes.

Hal has to stop frequently, for he does not have the strength he once did, and he usually takes a moments rest on trees that he can find, but despite that he takes moments of rests he never allows him to sit down or to rest completely on the ground for he fears that if he were to take a seat or to lie down that he would never get up again as he isn't certain he could muster the strength to do such a simple thing.

The grounds become rockier, harsher, and he finds himself struggling to walk down or up certain slopes and hills.

This land is unfamiliar to him, he has never wandered it before, and before this wouldn't bother him but it's different now.

He struggles more because he can't see as well in this darkness as he once could, he can't focus on particular things as long as he would like to, and he can't move with as much strength and efficiency as he once did.

His mind slows him down as much as his physical wounds and injuries do.

He moves on what he believes to be flat land, but finds in the passing seconds that it isn't.

He stumbles down the rocky slope slightly, finding it far more uneven as the previous ones he had come across, and while he fights to grab a hold of something around him he fails to.

He slips down further until he stops suddenly.

He feels numb at first.

And then he feels cold.

Cool liquid trickles down his right leg, which he finds now as he squints his eyes through the darkness and looks through the moonlight, has been caught between a thick rock.

From the knee down, he is stuck and bleeding, for he knows that it isn't water that runs down his body but blood.

Hal exhales heavily as he tries to gain some sense of calm.

He feels beneath his back and legs sharp rocks digging into him.

The position is uncomfortable and painful.

He tries to pull his leg from between the heavy boulders that it is wedged between, and he has partial success for he is able to pull out his knee – but his ankle is wedged in deeply, he cannot feel the pain which he believed would accompany such a fall as this.

All that he can feel is the cold blood as it falls down still.

Hal shuts his eyes as a thick sob gets caught in the back of his throat.

He has fought for so long but so far he has found no release, and just as he thought he had found some sort of hope, some sort of belief in the future, he finds himself trapped, injured, and bleeding alone in an unknown forest.

And despite all of this, he closes his eyes.

Despite that Hal knows it is so dangerous for him to be out here, that it is incredibly dangerous for him to close his eyes, he still shuts them.

Hal Mason wants nothing more than to sleep.

He moves down on his side, leaving his angle wedged into the trap in which he cannot break free of, and he positions his body down against the sharp and uncomfortable rocks.

He has no recollection of time here, and so when he hears a voice coming from what he presumes are the shadows, he opens his eyes.

But Hal doesn't find darkness, and he doesn't find a stranger.

He finds light.

A warm, beautiful, calm light that streams down through the tree tops and falls upon them.

"Hal." the voice repeats.

Tears slip down his cheeks with no notice.

He looks away from the light and the sun, which he has been without for so long, and finds the speaker.

He knew it was her, he could never forget her voice.

His mother stands before him, face kind and lit up with gold, eyes warm and swirling with love.

"Hal." she smiles. "You're here. You found me."

Hal smiles. "Mom."

He struggles to reach her, he fights to be near her, but she stops his struggles with something so simple as a word.

"Hal."

He stops and looks to her.

"Don't." she smiles. "Don't try to fight it, sweetie. You'll only hurt yourself more. Just stay still and calm, sweetheart. I'm here. I'm right here."

"You're – You're...How are you here?" he sits upwards, forgetting that his leg is still trapped.

The movement causes a searing pain to shoot throughout his leg.

He winces and shuts his eyes, something he will regret doing for the rest of his life, for when his eyes open she is gone.

The sun is gone.

There is no light here.

He is back in darkness, the rocks sticking sharply into his back, his ankle still trapped.

The only difference is that he feels the pain now.

"Mom?" he calls out into the dark of the night, like he was expecting some response, any response.

He receives nothing.

Hal shuts his eyes tightly and fights the urge to shout loudly.

He fights the urge to give up, to give in, instead he rests down against the rocks and keeps his eyes open.

When he looks upwards, he can catch a few remaining stars in the skies.

He keeps his attention and strength focused on these few stars, for if he gives into sleep he will never wake from it and if he doesn't keep himself focused then his mind will play cruelly with him.

It is now as he glances up at these stars that he truly allows himself to think about what could happen out here, what he never stopped to think of when he started out on his journey.

If he doesn't die from his wounds, dehydration, or lack of food, then he will probably die from exhaustion. If, somehow, he survives each of those things – his mind could claim him.

Hal didn't stop to consider that.

Until now, he didn't think about the possibility of the bug taking over.

He could black out, he could fall asleep, and never wake up.

The unwanted and frightening truth dawns upon him next; he can't know with certainty that he's awake now, that any of this is real, or if it is another mind manipulation.

He is lost in his reality and in his mind, and so far he has come across no exit, and no clear solution, for either.

Hal is left lonely, with blurred and unreachable memories of those he has lost and those that he will never see again.

* * *

**A/N: Hello :) Thank you so much to everyone who reads my story, I honestly wouldn't have made it to chapter 72 without you. Thank you to everyone who reviews it, as well as the favourites and follows. It honestly means so much to me, and I'll never be able to thank you enough. I apologise for any spelling errors I may have missed and for the late update.**

**I also just wanted to thank those who have also begun reading my new Falling Skies 'Daylight' story. That also means a lot to me. ****I have no plans to stop 'Safe and Sound' anytime soon, so I'll have two Falling Skies going on for a little while and I hope you enjoy them.**

**Speaking of Falling Skies... How intense and wonderful, but also painful and sad, is this new season ?!**

**Guest Reviews:  
Guest 6/11/13: chapter 72:  
**Hello, dear guest. :) Thank you for reading and reviewing. I'm sorry that you find my stories depressing, but Falling Skies is a post apocalyptic world and there are only ever really going to be few moments of happiness until the aliens gone. So, I'm sorry if you aren't really enjoying this storyline too much. As dark and down as the past chapters have been, there is some light at the end of the tunnel and that tunnel is nearing. Thank you for reading, I appreciate you review and your feedback x

**A special thanks to: JoyScott13, Geekman-1, SupernaturalCheetahFast, Sunset Mission, CherryTootsiePop and deamonmaster21 for their reviews. :)**

**Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy.**


	74. Tattered hope

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

_Hope is a tattered flag and a dream of time._  
_Hope is a heartspun word, the rainbow, the shadblow in white_  
_The evening star inviolable over the coal mines,_  
_The shimmer of northern lights across a bitter winter night._

Ben takes slow steps towards the edge of the border, in search of his friend whom he had, only seconds earlier, watched sneak away from the group in order to gain a moment alone.

As he neared Isaac, Ben reconsidered what he was doing and whether he should intrude.

But before he can change his mind, before he can turn away and back out, Isaac speaks.

"The company would be nice, Ben." Isaac says, his back still to Ben, his eyes settled on the ground beneath him. "Unless you have searched for me in order to reprimand me from leaving my bed, to which I'd kindly ask you to mind your own business."

Isaac turns quickly, a smile resting upon his kind but dulling features.

Ben's eyes flicker unintentionally over Isaac now, to find that he looks thinner, less steady on his feet, and the beginnings of a beard have spread over his face. His overall appearance is an unkempt and tired one. He's not dressed in his uniform, but rather a pair of brown slacks and a baggy green shirt.

"I'm just here for the company. No lectures or reprimands." Ben assures him.

Isaac releases a sigh full of relief. "Good. How are you doing, Ben?"

Ben pauses. "I'm okay."

Isaac's smile remains. "Good."

Silence follows.

"How are you?" Ben breaks it.

Isaac pauses before he lowers his head and casts a look over his body; he has many bandages, over wounds and burns, which vary between being only flesh wounds and deeper more serious wounds.

"Well." Isaac answers.

The words pass Ben's lips before he can stop them, before he can think them over and realise what it is he is saying.

"You're not though, are you?"

Isaac shoots Ben an amused look. "Thought you weren't here for that."

Ben shakes his head once. "I'm not, I- just.."

Isaac takes several small steps towards Ben, his eyes settled firmly on him as he does.

"What is it, Ben?" Isaac asks, his eyes shadowed with concern.

"You saved my life.." Ben starts.

"I know where this conversation is headed, Ben. I saved you're life, and know you think I'm dying. Well, I'm not dying, Ben. I'm just sick." Isaac replies.

Ben shakes his head again. "And getting sicker, with every day."

"I've discussed this with Doctor Glass." Isaac informs him. "The type of cancer that I have, it can be left alone for now."

"For now," he counters. "What happens if it spreads? Or if it's already spread? It's been years since the invasion. Don't you want to know?"

Isaac closes his eyes briefly. "There are many things in this life better left unknown."

"You saved my life, Isaac. You're my friend. I won't watch you die." he says.

He sighs again. "That's right. You won't, because it won't happen."

"I know you're a bit old for this..." Ben begins.

"Are we back to the age taunts again, pre-school boy?" Isaac smirks.

"No. I was just...I know that the Espheni always place the harnesses on children, young children, to use them to work..Like they used me. But the harnesses don't just do that. Before I was harnessed, I had asthma but I don't any more. What I'm saying is that a harness could heal you." Ben says.

"Ben," Isaac stretches out and places a hand on his friends shoulder. "As kind a thought that is, I have to say no. We don't know what the harnesses were made from, and if they were made specifically for children it's very likely that they'll react badly when placed upon an adult. I'm going to be okay, with time. We all just need time, and in the end...We'll be okay. You'll see."

"Do you really believe that?" Ben asks, swallowing tightly.

"This is about Hal, too. Isn't it?" Isaac deduces.

Ben says nothing.

"You're worried about him, about what's going to happen to him out there?" Isaac asks.

Ben nods, his body stays stiff and his eyes stay settled out on the distance like he's somewhere else, like they aren't having this conversation.

Isaac sighs. "Ben. You're allowed to miss him, to be worried about him."

"I'm angry at him. Above everything, I'm angry. And I know, it's selfish and unfair, and I know that I'm not really angry at Hal...I'm just angry about what they did to him. I'm angry that..."

Isaac tilts his head sideways. "That what, Ben?"

"That they took my brother away, again. I mean, we haven't had Hal back since the warehouse. And even then, he wasn't..Hal." Ben releases a heavy and deep sigh.

"Anger is a powerful emotion," Isaac says, "It's part of us, as humans, to react angrily when bad things happen, things that we can't stop or control, to our family or to ourselves. To anyone we know. But anger is a dangerous emotion, Ben. It can destroy you."

"What, you're not angry about what the aliens have done to us? To this world? To the billions of this world?" Ben asks.

"Of course I am, Ben. But above the anger, I'm hopeful." he says.

"For what?" Ben questions.

"For a new chance, a new world. For life to continue. I'm hopeful that I'll get the chance to kill them, that we'll wipe them out one day and retake what's ours. You're free to feel whatever it is you want, Ben. We all are. The anger can stay with you for a little while, but if it stays with you for too long it becomes a part of you, it sinks deep into your bones, and then one day you'll wake up and all you'll have left is anger. Your happiness, your love, your life will be overshadowed with it and if that day ever comes, then the aliens have won." Isaac says.

"Oh, and an answer to your previous question about whether I really believe it.. Yes, Ben. I do really believe it, not because I have to, not because it's true because it may not be.. but I believe it because we have to have something to believe in, don't we? In this messed up, alien infested world we need something to believe in, something to hold on to, otherwise what else do we have left?"

* * *

Matt finds his father resting on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands, his eyes shut, and a blanket half draped over his body like he'd tried to sleep but had been unable to. Matt had been resting in the same tent as Henry and Benjamin, but had woken and decided to come out in search of his father.

"Dad?" Matt quietly says.

Tom's eyes open suddenly and fall upon Matt.

A small smile sweeps across his features.

"Hi, bud." Tom says. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Matt answers. "Are you okay, dad?"

Tom's smile remains. "Me? I'll be...I'll be fine, Matt. I always am. Just like Hal, just like Ben – and just like you."

Tom's eyes flicker down slowly towards the folded sheets of paper that he sees in Matt's hands. He pauses before he glances up at Matt and smiles.

"What do you have there?" Tom asks softly.

"When I was in Charleston, I wrote to you."

His smile widens slightly. "Did you?"

"Yep." Matt nods. "I wrote to Ben and Hal too."

"Can I read mine?"

Matt shrugs. "If you want."

"Of course I want to."

"You can read Hal's too, just in case..." Matt begins but doesn't finish.

Tom looks up quickly. "Just in case what, Matt?"

Matt sighs. "Just in case he doesn't come back."

Tom reaches out for Matt and pulls him towards him, he holds him so tightly in his arms, gently rubbing his back as he does.

"Of course he's coming back. He always does." Tom replies, and despite that he has little confidence about this he sounds confident to Matt.

"Really?" Matt pulls back. "You promise?"

"Oh, of course I do." Tom ruffles Matt's hair. "You want to get it?" he gestures towards his bed.

Matt nods and slips into bed beside his father, Tom lies down slowly and waits for Matt to pass him the letters.

Matt tucks all of the papers but his father's into the pocket of his pants. "You can just read yours then. You don't have to read Hal's since he's coming back."

"Okay." Tom whispers.

He pulls Matt against his chest and covers them both with his blanket.

Matt passes the pile of papers to Tom. "I wrote a couple."

"I can see that. Thank you, Matt." Tom smiles before he presses a kiss to Matt's head.

As he slowly opens the letter, he glances down at Matt and finds his weary eyes have begun to shut slowly.

"You want me to read them to you, Matt?" Tom asks.

Matt shakes his head. "No. You can read them. I just wanted to be in here with you."

Tom presses a kiss to the top of Matt's forehead. "And I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"

"Okay." Matt quietly replies.

Tom decides that he will read the letters in the morning, for not only does he not want to risk waking Matt from the sleep he quickly falls into but Tom also finds that he is incredibly tired and also longs to sleep, for sleep may provide him with a peace that he is unable to find while he is awake.

Tom carefully places Matt's folded letters into the pocket of his shirt before he snuggles down against Matt and puts his arms around him.

As his heavy eyelids begin closing, Tom silently hopes that wherever Hal is, and whatever it is he is doing, that he is safe, uninjured, and healthy. Above all, Tom hopes that he will see Hal soon.

* * *

"Think we should call it a night." Pope suggests, as he turns towards Joseph.

They spent hours upon hours searching, walking, and trying to track down Maggie or Hal. They found no signs, no marks of either. Pope knew which way Hal claimed he was heading, but with the state Hal was in Pope didn't believe he could make it far. He also knew that, given that Hal was probably disoriented and weak now, he didn't know what damn direction he was walking in and that he and Joseph were likely to be out here for days, maybe even weeks, before they found any sign of him or Maggie.

Pope notes that Joseph looks tired, his forehead is sweaty, and he looks like he needs a good sleep and then something to eat.

He had suggested several times that Joseph sleep, but he had adamantly and repeatedly refused.

Pope had silently wondered why the Captain had chosen the two of them to find Mason. Captain Weaver barely trusted Pope, so he didn't understand why the Captain chose him to recover Mason Junior who was known to have a bug in his head.

"I won't argue this time. But soon as morning comes, we're up and moving." Joseph replies.

Pope sighs. "Don't know why this damn Mason hunt is so important to you."

"I lost my own boy, for a long time." Joseph answers, coming to a stop as he does. "I know what it's like, and I'll do anything to bring a son home to his father."

"Touching." Pope grunts, as his eyes skim over the area they have chosen to camp in.

Several large, thick tree trunks have fallen down around them and become a sort of natural barrier against the outside. It's a good spot.

Joseph gathers some branches while Pope clears some land for the two of them to sit down upon.

"We'll start a fire when it gets dark." Joseph says, as he places the pile of branches and twigs several feet in front of Pope.

Pope nods but says nothing.

"Why are you out here, John?" Joseph asks.

"Captain ordered it." Pope shrugs, a bitterness ringing off of his tone. "Damned if I know why he asked me. And you and I – we're practically placing a 'come and get us' sign on in the sky for the cooties to come after us. You saw what they did at the warehouse. I'm just waiting for the god damn ship to appear in the sky and fry us both."

"Maybe you're out here.." Joseph begins, as he removes the bag from his back. "Because you knew Maggie before, thought you might be able to track her down too. And I have no plans to become fried remains. I told my boy I was coming back, and I plan to."

Pope pauses. "Yeah, well..You didn't specify when and what form you would come back in. Did you?"

And that's all he says on that, so Joseph leaves him be and instead settles down against the ground, releasing a heavy sigh as he does.

"Take a nap, Thatch." Pope instructs. "I'll take first watch. Wake you when it's dinner time."

* * *

When Tom wakes in the early morning, he finds that Matt is still asleep in his arms. Slowly, and carefully, he manages to extract himself from the bed without waking his son. He pulls the blankets back up over Matt, tucks him in tightly, and presses a gentle kiss to his forehead before he ventures outside of the tent.

He first sets his eyes down upon Captain Weaver, who he finds resting outside his tent, his eyes closed, clutching a piece of paper in his hands.

"Dan?" Tom asks.

Weaver's eyes snap open. "Tom."

He turns towards him.

"What are you doing out here?" Tom asks, his face already painted with worry.

"I wanted a word, Tom. But I didn't want to wake you or Matt." Weaver replies.

"So, you waited until I woke up?" Tom asks.

Weaver nods.

"Thoughtful, Dan, but unnecessary. I've already wasted too much time sleeping, I need to be out there looking for Hal. We need to be out there looking for him."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Tom. Can we take a walk outside?" Captain Weaver suggests.

Tom nods. "Sure."

He follows Dan outside slowly, the two walking mostly in silence until they are outside beside a set of parked vehicles.

"The Second Mass is a family. We rely on each other, depend on each other, but above all we protect each other. With that in mind, Hal's actions were his actions. I will not claim that he was of sound mind, because he was not, but his actions were of his own free will. Now, allow me to finish speaking, Tom, and then you may say your piece."

Tom sighs and nods, keeping his lips pressed together to fight himself from arguing with Captain Weaver.

Weaver sighs heavily. "I can't say that I know what it's like to be in your position, Tom, but I do understand on some level. Your son is out there, and as a father you want to do everything in your power to bring him back. But what you need to remember is that you have two more sons here who need you, Tom. You have the Second Mass who rely and look up to you. We can't lose you – and we can't lose Hal either. That's why I sent a patrol out for him, they left last night."

The beginning of a frown threatens to form upon Tom's face. "Who was in this patrol?"

"You're not going to like it very much, Tom. I understand that-"

"Who was in the patrol? Logan?" Tom cuts across him.

Weaver shakes his head. "No, not Logan. I think that the only people who can truly understand what it is you are dealing with, Tom, in this very difficult situation are fathers. I understand. Just like Joseph understands."

"Tell me you didn't send Pope out there with him." Tom nearly begs.

Captain Weaver pauses.

An angered expression sweeps over Tom's face in seconds, he almost cannot believe that Captain Weaver would send Pope, who has had no problem putting a gun to Hal's head in the past, out there to recover his son after they learnt he still had the bug in his mind.

"Dan!" Tom exclaims. "Do you have any idea what Pope is capable of doing? What he might do to my son if he finds him-"

"A father will do anything for his child. Before anything, Joseph and Pope are fathers. They are capable, and honestly at the moment they are two of our best. We are just recovering from the heavy fire we received at the library. My initial choice was Dai and Anthony, but both are still recovering from their recent wounds." Weaver loudly replies.

Tom sighs and rubs his creased forehead. "What about Margaret?"

"We are unsure of the exact timing, but sometime yesterday evening Margaret slipped out of the border and didn't return." Weaver replies.

Tom's already furrowed brow deepens. "What? She left?"

"Yes." Dan nods. "I spoke to Pope afterward, and he confirmed that she left in search of Hal."

"She isn't well, Dan. She shouldn't be out there alone." Tom counters quickly. "We have to find her, and Hal."

Weaver disagrees. "Margaret knew what she was doing. She knows what she's doing. It's what any of us would do-"

"It's what I should be doing." Tom counters loudly.

"Tom." he sighs. "You're injured still. You have your other sons to protect."

"But Hal-" he begins.

"Hal is a strong boy. I promise you, Tom, that they will find him and they will bring him back to you. I'll make sure your boy gets home." Weaver says.

Tom can't listen to these words because he can't believe them with complete certainty, he can't know with complete certainty that Hal will come home to him.

"You can't promise me that, Dan! Not when you're counting on Pope to deliver my son unharmed." Tom snaps back harshly.

Weaver steps closer, his voice lowered and more understanding. "Tom, I understand that you're upset. But Pope has proven himself as a capable fighter-"

"He has endangered the lives of my boys countless times! How do I know that I can trust him now?" Tom replies.

"Because he owes it to you, to bring Hal back." Weaver answers, "Because, before Joseph left, he told me that he would do everything in his power to bring Hal back, and to keep him safe."

Silence follows Weaver's words.

"Tom..." he sighs.

"What?" Tom snaps.

"You just have to trust me on this, Tom. Just like you'll have to trust Margaret, and Joseph. I'm not asking you to trust Pope, but I'm asking you to have faith that there is a tiny part of him that might be capable of doing good, that might bring Hal home." Weaver says.

Tom shakes his head as he turns his back on the Captain. "There's too much uncertainty in what you just said, in what you're asking me to do. And I can't do it, I'm sorry."

"Tom." Weaver says quickly.

He falters before he turns towards him. "You can't change my mind on this, Dan."

"I can't lead these people without you, Tom." Weaver admits, sighing heavily as he does.

A frown darts across Tom's face. "Of course you can, Dan. What are you talking about?"

"Sure, I can lead them into battle. I can take them forward to where we are headed, but they are down. We are all down, and we are licking our wounds, and you have always been good with your words, Tom. Whatever you say, they listen. They need you, just as much as I do. And when Hal gets back, when he's brought back to you, he'll need you too. But he'll understand that you had to be here, with your people, just like you'll understand that he had do to whatever it is he's doing out there."

* * *

The morning sun is deceptively bright, for the light which it casts upon all beneath it is far from warm. The light is cold and causes Maggie to pull the jacket around her body tighter. She walks at a steady face, at a fast pace, stopping only briefly to check for any signs or indications that Hal passed through this way.

She came across boot tracks, a couple miles back, but they weren't clear enough and she couldn't determine if they belonged to Hal or not.

Her thoughts controlled her, she couldn't stop thinking them despite her best attempts to not.

Her mind raced with thoughts of Hal, images of him lying somewhere cold, or injured, or being dragged towards the aliens and becoming their captive again. He couldn't live through that again, she knew it. He barely lived through it the first time.

She was determined to find him and to fight for him.

Whatever it took, she constantly told herself.

She would do whatever it took, whatever was necessary, to save him, to protect him and to keep him safe. If that meant pushing herself forward, even when her body begged her not to, she would do that. And she did that for as long as she could, until it became so dark that she could barely see, and then and only then did she seek rest. She curled up against the bottom of a tree trunk, ate a little, and then shut her eyes.

She didn't sleep because she couldn't, because sleep was for the lucky and she was a very unlucky person, because her mind was too busy to sleep and her body was too sore that it prevented her from finding any peace or any comfortable position to sleep.

Maggie keeps moving forward now with the sun shining down on her, but she only catches brief rays, momentary glimpses, before the light darts away or disappears through the leaves through which it seeps through.

There was still so much ground to travel, so much land to look over, and as she moved forward the same thoughts travelled through her mind. These thoughts included worries, worries that she may have left him behind, may have walked past his body, may have missed the signs or markings, or that she might be moving in the wrong direction.

She stops and shuts her eyes, feeling the pain returning to her legs. She shuts her eyes tighter, presses her lips together, and she silently curses.

She  
wants to curse Hal for being so foolish, for leaving her, for leaving when he promised he'd stay.

But she doesn't.

She doesn't curse him because it isn't his fault, none of this is and she'll never believe otherwise.

She curses the aliens and what they did to him, and then she curses Karen for what she did to him and how she caused all of this.

Lastly, Maggie curses herself for letting him go, for not stopping him, and for not saving him.

She travels forward through the day, late into the afternoon and eventually the night, recovering no sign of Hal Mason. It's almost like he vanished from the air, and this worries Maggie for her first thought is the aliens recaptured him.

* * *

Hal's eyelids almost feel too heavy to open, as he wakes, so instead he chooses to keep them closed for now. He wakes slowly, feeling numb as he does. His body aches, he feels stiff and sore, and his head aches badly. For several long moments, he doesn't try to move because he feels hazy and slow.

He tries to pull something from his memory, like the last thought that he had, and it comes to him slowly, softly, cascaded with a bright light; he saw his Mom, and she was smiling at him, whispering softly that he try not to move because he was hurt.

A frown falls upon his features as he comes to feel an odd sensation overcoming parts of his body; his right hand feels sticky and injured, and it feels like there is something stuck in his hand, but what he finds to be the strangest feeling, the odd sensation, is the cold feeling which sweeps over his leg.

From the thigh up, his leg feels sticky and somewhat wet.

A fear creeps up inside of Hal, and his eyes open so quickly that his head throbs. He finds that the night is still dark, and that the moon hangs heavy in the sky above him, shining it's light down upon him. He lifts his right arm up slowly, so that he may properly view his hand, and as he does Hal is struck with panic.

Dry and sticky blood not only stains his entire hand, it has run up and stained most of his arm. But it is the knife inside of his palm, the knife he clutches tightly, that causes him to begin to frantically search himself for any wounds or cuts. He checks his chest and arms, finding no sign, no source of blood.

And then he looks upon it.

The light from the moon shines down upon his leg, and it's almost like he'd forgotten that his ankle was trapped between the boulder.

Hal sits upright as best as he can and tries to lean in closer, tries to view his leg closer.

He can still feel it, because when he tries to move it even an inch the pain rises.

Hal notices now what he first failed to notice, what he should have noticed but didn't; the leg of his pants has been rolled upwards, and Hal has no recollection of doing that. He looks closer and chokes loudly on the cry that rises in his throat as his mind registers.

Blood stains paint his legs, and mark the rocks beneath which he rests on. But this is not what causes Hal to cry out with pain, it is the sight of the thick, fleshy, cut to his ankle.

Hal nearly vomits at the sight, tears stream down his face without his control and the pain hits him. The pain that hits him is physical and mental; the knife in his hand was used to cut at his own ankle, he tried to cut away at it to free himself.

It hits Hal now that he doesn't have any recollection of the day, or time. He doesn't know how long he has been lying here, but if it is any indication from the state of his body then at least a day.

He blacked out.

Hal leans back against the rock and cries, he thrashes his arms about, tosses the knife away, and he cries for all that the aliens have done to him and all he has become because of them. He cries because the pain never ends, but above all, above everything else, he cries because he believes that he is lost just as the Earth is and there is not a thing anyone can do to fix it or save it.

He didn't pick up the knife, and try to cut at his own leg. Hal wouldn't do that. He'd try to free the boulder, to wedge his foot out somehow. He'd find another way.

The reason that Hal doesn't remember this is because he wasn't in control, because he blacked out, because he didn't do this to himself.

The bug did.

* * *

**A/N: Hello :) I know, it's been a little while since I updated and I'm sorry. I just had some difficulty finding time to write..Anyway, here it is. Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading my story.**

**Oh, and just one more thing about this chapter - The reason that Hal was able to wake up as Hal and why the bug stopped controlling Hal is because the bug broke into parts. As you would remember, a small bug crawled out of Hal's ear on the med bus and they thought that was it. Well, it wasn't and now that the bug isn't whole it's strength and it's ability to control Hal has diminished greatly and it can now only control him for short periods of time so that is why he woke as Hal..also the cut isn't that deep so Hal will eventually recover...**

**Guest review:**

**victoria ****6/20/13 . chapter 73:  
**Hi, Victoria :) Thanks for reading my story. Yes, the last chapter was quite sad and this one isn't much better..But things get better soon, in the next chapters. You'll see soon enough. Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy the update.

**X**


	75. Dreams of time

**Disclaimer: Falling skies; is copyright to TNT. All Rights Reserved. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made. I claim nothing and own nothing but the laptop I wrote this on, any OC's I have or will include and the storyline (the parts I created of the storyline).**

* * *

_Hope is a tattered flag and a dream of time._  
_Hope is a heartspun word, the rainbow, the shadblow in white_  
_The evening star inviolable over the coal mines,_  
_The shimmer of northern lights across a bitter winter night.  
_**.**

Pope shoves Joseph several more times before he eventually wakes from the deep rest that he had fallen into. He wakes quickly, eyes darting around him, his hand immediately dropping to the rifle placed beside him.

"Don't go firing that thing off, Thatch." Pope says quickly. "Just me."

Joseph releases a small sigh before he looks up at Pope, he realises now he must have overslept because the morning sun is shining down brightly upon them.

"Crap," Joseph sighs.

"The name's Pope." Pope says slowly, a slight frown on his face.

"I overslept." Joseph says.

Pope snorts and returns to his back-pack. "Yeah, well...That's sort of an overstatement. It doesn't matter now..What's done is done."

Joseph scratches at his forehead before he pulls himself upwards, and finally stands.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he asks.

Pope shrugs. "Tried to, but you were out like a god damn light an' weren't interested in coming back on. Shoved you a couple times. Couple punches. No response."

"You're tired," Joseph's eyes flicker over him. "You should sleep."

"We're wasting daylight." Pope answers quickly, sliding his back-pack over his shoulder.

He releases a sigh and turns to Joseph who hasn't moved.

"Don't know if your ears are filled with crap, but I just said we're wasting daylight." Pope states.

"Take an hour, it's not that big a waste. Plus, there's still plenty of daylight left in the day" Joseph says.

Pope shakes his head. "I'll sleep tonight. We gotta get moving, if we want any chance of tracking either of those crazy kids down."

"Mmm..." Joseph sighs. "You think we'll find them?"

Pope pauses. "Want a lie or the truth?"

"The truth." Joseph answers.

Pope releases a heavy sigh, and the words he'd been thinking over and over again just spill out. "We might find Maggie-May, eventually, but the odds are against us in finding bug boy. He's either back with the aliens, or he's lying in a ditch somewhere."

Joseph murmurs slowly. "Hm."

"What?" Pope frowns.

"You really hate 'em, don't you, John?" Joseph asks.

The frown on Pope's forehead deepens. "Who? The cooties? I hate them with every part of my being, more than anything else on this world."

"I was talking about the Mason family." he says.

Pope considers Joseph's words before he replies.

"Did you not hear what I said? I hate the cooties. And the fish-heads. And the Mason's are crawling with the critters. What, with Mason Senior having the eye-bug in his mind...Like father like son." Pope murmurs, avoiding Joseph's question still.

Joseph sighs. "Your boy was harnessed."

Pope turns to him quickly, a look of warning already on his face. "Don't you bring my boy into it."

"It just seems to me-" Joseph starts.

"I don't give a damn what it seems to you, Thatch. You know what? I think all those hours sleep must've effected your mind because you're actually implying that it's okay that three out of the four Mason's have been influenced somehow, in someway, but the cooties." Pope snaps back.

Joseph shakes his head. "It wasn't their choice."

"But it happened regardless!" he exclaims in response.

"Your boy was harnessed. Do you blame him?"

Pope pauses. "His spikes are gone."

"That's not what I'm asking," Joseph bites back. "I'm asking if you blame him, Pope. I'm asking if you blame a young child for getting harnessed? And if you blame Hal for getting bugged?"

"He nearly killed you, and the whole Second Mass. So, yeah, Thatch. I blame him. But I blame the aliens more. And I suppose it's up to fate who we come across first, just like it's up to fate whose head the bullets in my gun go into." Pope says.

"You don't mean that." Joseph answers.

"Oh, but I do." he says.

Joseph takes a step in Pope's direction. "You saved my life once. You remember?"

"Yeah, that went well." Pope scoffs. "You came back half dead."

"Means you're capable of something good."

"Nah," Pope shakes his head. "You're looking at something that's not there."

"Whatever you want to think..." Joseph sighs. "Just...Think on it, while we're walking. Think on how powerless the Mason's have felt-"

"Why don't we have an agreement, hm? We just shut it on the Mason subject for now. Okay?" Pope suggests, turning his back on Joseph as he does.

Joseph nods. "Until we come across him."

Pope sighs and turns to Joseph, and as he does he almost catches a deeper emotion on Pope's expression. He almost catches guilt, but it's gone before Joseph can properly identify it.

Pope shakes his head, and with a lower voice he responds. "We won't, and if we do we'll just find Maggie clinging to a corpse."

* * *

She feels the warm sun falling down against her skin and almost smiles at how refreshing and warming it feels. She stays like this for a moment until her thoughts return to her, until the stinging pain sets in on her forehead, until a sharp aching pain rides up her side and moves through her body.

Maggie opens her eyes slowly to a beautiful sight; the sight of the warm sunlight escaping through the light trees and branches above. She wakes on her side, unsure of why she was resting at all.

The last though that she clearly recalls is moving forward in the forest. She looks down at herself and finds that she is on unfamiliar ground, tattered and stained with dry blood. She pulls away her jacket and finds her shirt dry with crimson. Then, she lifts her head to her forehead and finds it sticky.

Maggie shuts her eyes once more and breathes out heavily before she pulls herself upwards. Once her feet are as steady as they will be, upon the ground, she looks around at her surroundings and it comes back to her; she slipped, lost her footing, and went down the small hill only several feet away. She curses herself for being so foolish, for not stopping to rest when she obviously needed it.

She searches for her flask but finds nothing, and then she sees it on the ground. She dives down and picks it up, finding that it is empty. She was drinking from it when she tripped, and the contents must have spilled. She curses and considers throwing away the flask, but decides against it and instead shoves it into her bag and begins moving forward in hope of finding a stream or a pool of water.

She ignores her grumbling stomach, or the headache that stays with her still, and pushes forward in the hopes of finding Hal. She can't pretend that she doesn't think of him always, on her journey to find him. She thinks of where he could be, and what he's doing. She worries about the state that he's in, and how his condition is. She worries that the bug has taken control of him and led him to Karen and the aliens, or that they have found him and taken him from her again.

All that keeps her moving, all that allows Maggie to continue pushing and moving forward as she does, are thoughts of how if their positions were swapped Hal wouldn't give up on her. The Hal Mason she knew, the one that she knows is still somewhere inside his troubled mind, would never give up on her. There was never any chance, or any way, that she was going to give up on him anyway.

Maggie walks steadily through the morning, the sun becoming colder and the air becoming icier as she moves through it. She tightens her jacket, and stops for a moment to allow herself a brief moment of rest. She looks down at her surroundings, and then looks at the area around her. She decides to keep going forward, even though she has no idea if Hal is still headed this way.

She hangs on to the hope that he'll make it through this.

* * *

Anne finds Tom resting on the edge of the bed on the bed mus, a watch in his hands, a small and sad smile on his face. When he hears her footsteps, he looks up quickly and wipes the tears from his cheeks.

"Hi." Anne says quietly.

She moves to his side quickly and sits down beside him, taking his hand in hers as she does, she clutches him tightly and soothes his hands.

"How are you doing?" she asks.

Tom sighs heavily. "I'm okay. I'm just..I'm thinking."

Tom's mind races constantly, and loudly, with thoughts of all of his sons, and of Maggie, and of the future of the Second Mass and of the world. He replays moments, memories, voices and pictures in his mind. Lately, these have been moments with Hal, moments in the past when he thought Hal was fine, moments when he should have known that something was wrong with him.

"About what?" Anne traces a gentle pattern on Tom's hand.

"Hal." Tom smiles sadly. "About the day I gave him this watch, his birthday. I thought he'd hate it, but he didn't. He has just...He changed so much. He grew into a man so quickly, right before my eyes, and it was almost like I didn't see it - and then one day he was just there. I remember watching him, and thinking how proud I was of him and how proud his mother would be...Anyway, the watch belonged to my Grandfather and I was so worried Hal wasn't going to like it but he did. He loved it, and I just can't stop thinking that it was one of the last real times that it was really him in there. I can't stop replaying all of these moments over and over in my mind, wondering if it was Hal or if it wasn't even him inside."

"We'll get him back, Tom. We always do." Anne promises softly.

It's not that he doesn't want to believe her words, or listen to her promises, because he does but Tom can't possibly believe them.

"I don't know, Anne." he admits. "I just don't know this time. I mean..Even if we get him back, physically, that doesn't guarantee anything. That doesn't mean we can get the bug out, or that he'll ever be the same. He never had the time to grieve, or to feel anything. I'm just so worried, Anne. I'm so beyond worried, and I'm so exhausted and I can't stop thinking about him and worrying. I want to believe he'll come back to us but I just don't know this time."

"He's been through a lot, Tom." Anne starts.

"Too much." he cuts over her. "He's been through too much for an eighteen year old. And I let it happen, I stood by and I was helpless and maybe I didn't want to see that it wasn't him. Maybe I just wanted to believe that he was okay after the first bug was pulled out, and I should have known that there was more. I should have known that it wasn't Hal. And..As much as I wanted to fight for him, I couldn't..And then he came to me, and he begged, and cried, and pleaded for me to believe him but I couldn't. I just couldn't believe him."

What about now, Tom?" she asks. "Do you believe him now?"

With everything that he has, he wants to believe Hal. He wants to believe his son more than he has every wanted anything else before, but he still doesn't know with certainty if he can. Tom doesn't know if they'll even get Hal back, and if they do he might never be the same son he once was.

Tom pauses. "I want to. With all of my heart and soul, I want to. And a small part of me does – a part of my heart does, but then I'm reminded of how he went for all those weeks...Without really being Hal. He did things, Anne. Bad things. I know they weren't him, and I don't blame him for that, but he doesn't believe it. Hal didn't believe it. He didn't want to get better."

'When we get him back, I promise, Tom, he'll get better. I know, you're disbelieving of hope or faith. You have every reason to be, but remember when he was taken by the aliens and harnessed? We got him back. When he pulled away from you, and got involved in the medical procedure? He survived. Hal is strong, like you. Believe in him, and believe he'll come back to you, and he will." Anne says.

Tom shakes his head.

"I just.." Tom stands from the bed, breaking their contact. "I want to but I can't. We have all just been beaten, and stomped on, and we have nothing left. I have nothing left, and Hal – he's emptier than all of us. If I don't feel like I can make it through this, how can he? I know, I have to be strong for my boys. And I will. I will be strong, but I can't pretend that this is going to be fixed by faith and that Hal will come back home to us as long as we have hope. Hope is futile, Anne. Hope has given us, what, a couple extra years before death takes us? You said it yourself. I remember. You said we're all just a heartbeat away from death, and we are and there's nothing we can do about it. At the end of the day, when death comes our way, hope or faith won't stop it. It's going to take us whether we want it to or not, and all that we can do is shut our eyes and hope it comes easily."

* * *

As the afternoon sun begins to fade Maggie finds herself at the edge of a small running lake. She glances up at the sky and finds it darkening, and knows that a storm is settling in.

Cold droplets of rain begin falling down from the sky, she ignores them and moves forward.

She bends down by the side of the pond but just as she is about to inspect the water, to view it closer and see that she might drink it without falling sick, she spots something in the distance.

At first, she mistakes it as a gleam of silver flickering brightly across the pond and on the pile of crushed and unsteady rocks. She glances away, thinking it to be nothing but a trick of her eye, until she looks up once more and focuses her eyes.

She squints and looks closer, trying to look past the sheen of the water glaring up at her.

She spots what looks like a body, although she can't make it out clearly from here. She pulls on her back-pack in a rush and begins darting towards the rocky pile formed against the slope. She moves unsteadily past the small pond and crosses the land in seconds.

She feels her body being pumped full of adrenaline and hope.

"Hal?" she manages to call out.

She almost doesn't recognise the sound of her own voice; the person calling out to Hal sounds broken and tired, they sound unfamiliar, an echo of their former self.

"Hal!?" she cries out to him.

Maggie feels the hole inside of her chest growing deeper as she nears the body, praying that if it is Hal that he is alive and isn't badly injured.

When she nears the rocky slope, she climbs up it, slipping twice, until she nears the flat ground which Hal rests on.

And it is Hal.

She knows this as she nears him, as she climbs towards him, because she recognises his hair first, and then his clothes.

Hal's eyes feel heavy, so he keeps them closed. His mind aches and throbs, and he can barely think without feeling a searing pain move through his mind. He tries to remain empty, to lie and think of nothing, because he's already given into the darkness and allowed it to take him.

He doesn't want to be part of the light. He's tried so long to move into it and leave all that he's done behind but what he's done is inescapable and there's no solution, no way out.

He feels hands gripping his face, running down to his neck, and holding his arms. Then, he hears a sound. A vague voice calling to him.

His eyes open and he sees her.

The sun is clouded by grey, but some light still sneaks through and falls upon her. He knows it isn't real, that she couldn't possibly be here, but he doesn't care.

"Hal..." she cries, a sad smile spreading on her lips. "Hal, it's okay. You're okay."

He smiles and his grip on her hand tightens. "Maggie..."

He sighs with relief as he watches her.

She nods and inches closer to him.

"I'm here." she cries, her smile widening.

The tears run down his cheeks as he smiles up at her.

"You're not." he answers weakly.

"I'm here. Hal, it's me." she promises.

"Maggie." he smiles sadly.

His eyes still feel heavy but he doesn't dare close them, he can't let her go, he can't lose this image of her.

"You're not really here," he cries. "But I don't care. I don't care that you're not real. You're here.. I'm just glad I can see you again."

"Hal, I'm real." she answers quietly.

He still doesn't believe her, he can't believe her, because he knows that he is completely and utterly alone in this, that he's always been alone in it, and that he's dying out here but she's here with him now in his mind and he's okay with that.

"I want you to be," he manages to say. "But you're not here."

Maggie leans down and touches his cheeks softly, his eyes close as he feels the touch, and he just knows now that she's real, that she's here, that she found him.

"Maggie." he cries, his eyes opening again.

His grip on her hand tightens, a disbelieving and empty smile forms on his pale, cracked and bloody lips.

"You- how-I.." he stutters.

"How..You found me." he says, tears falling down his face.

She nods. "You're okay, Hal. You're going to be okay."

It sets in now that if he isn't dreaming, and if this isn't real, then he's dying.

Hal's body stiffens up and he tries to move but quickly stops, releasing a loud and painful groan.

"I don't..." he starts but pauses, lowering his head down on the rock beneath it. "I don't want to die like this, out here. I don't want to die."

His eyes briefly close.

She shakes her head quickly. "You won't. You're not going to die like this. I've got you, okay, Hal? I'm here."

"You're here." he repeats, his eyes opening again.

She smiles and places her hand against his cheek gently, careful not to place her hand against his wounds.

"I'm here." she says quietly. "I'll get us out of here. You just have to stay away, and stay with me, okay?"

Hal swallows tightly and presses his lips together.

"Hal?"

"Okay." he finally says.

Maggie slides off of her bag and places it down beside Hal. She searches through it until she finds a small shirt in the bag. She looks through the rest of the clothes and after deciding that she can use this as a bandage, she ties up the bag and moves back to Hal's side.

She looks over his body slowly, examining his chest and his arms, finding that he is stained with so much blood, and just as she is deciding how she will tend to his wounds she looks down towards his leg and feels a sob rising in the back of her throat.

"Are you in pain?" she asks him.

He pauses. "Not as much...Not any more."

She sighs heavily, silently thinking that it probably isn't a good sign that he isn't feeling pain. She observes the two rocks that his ankle is stuck between and decides that she will try to free his leg.

"I'm going to try and get you free, Hal." she announces. "But if the pain gets too much-"

"I don't want to die here." he repeats.

"You won't. I'm here." she answers, with a stronger voice.

After looking at the structure of the rocks, and the surrounding rocks pressing against them, Maggie forms a plan in her mind. She's going to attempt to lift the rocks pressing against the larger rock, the one on the right, and then she might be able to lift the rock long enough for Hal to be able to pull his ankle free.

"I'm going to try and lift the rocks away, Hal." she announces.

He lifts his head up slightly and watches her still, unable to form a response.

"When I do, I need you to lift your ankle out of the way." she adds.

"Mhm.." he murmurs, in response.

Maggie moves around as quickly as she can, for what feels like hours to Hal, until she has moved a sufficient amount of pressing rocks away that she believes that she can shift the largest one. She returns to Hal's side and gently nudges him, causing his eyes to open.

"I need you to keep your eyes open, Hal." she says quietly. "You have to stay with me."

And she's not asking, she's telling him that he must keep his eyes open.

His eyes lock with hers. "Okay."

"It won't be much longer," she says.

He tries to keep his eyes open, tries to fight it, tries to ignore the pain but it's always been with him. Hal holds onto the hope he finds when he looks upon Maggie, tries to picture a morning where he might wake feeling nothing bad.

"Keep talking to me, Hal." she calls out, as she return to the larger boulder.

"I'm here," he calls out weakly.

She knows he's fading, and he knows it too.

"I'm here with you." he says.

She lifts one leg over Hal's and crouches down, inspecting his ankle closer. She sighs before she settles her hands against it and prepares to push it.

"Hal..." Maggie shuts her eyes briefly.

If Maggie is wrong, and if she isn't strong enough to hold this heavy and sharp rock, she could cause them both greater injury. If she hasn't moved away all the rocks that need to, they could fall in on Hal's ankle and worsen his injuries. There are so many things that could go wrong with this situation.

"I'm right here." he promises quietly.

She opens her eyes and steadies herself.

"I'm pushing it away now," she announces.

She finds her strength in Hal, and knowing that she _has_ to save him or this is it for both of them.

Maggie digs her feet into the ground and uses all of her strength, all of her hate and all of her anger towards the aliens and all they have done to Hal and this world, and the boulder shifts but not far enough.

Hal tries to free his ankle but it's still caught, a painful cry escapes his lips as his skin tears against the rock.

"Damn it." Maggie curses.

She feels her feet slipping, her strength waning.

She isn't strong enough.

Her hate and her anger aren't strong enough to push her forward.

So, instead of thinking of the hate that fills her or the anger which moves through her, she thinks of the good things; she thinks of her love for him, she thinks of how he saved her and how she trusts him unquestionably.

And that is enough.

She finds her strength in him and she pushes the boulder _just_ enough that Hal may slip his ankle through the crack and free himself. Once he's out, once he's free, she sets the rock back down and half slides down on the ground.

She feels weaker now, but she ignores it because she has to focus on Hal. She can't focus on herself when he's in this state.

Hal's painful cries and moans become louder, as much as he tries to stop them. His chest heaves and his lips stay tightly pressed together.

Maggie kneels down beside his ankle and inspects the wound; it is crusted, and dirtied, and covered with dry dark blood. She presses her fingers gently down on the skin, to see if Hal can feel it.

"Can you feel that?" she asks.

His body stiffens up as he feels her touch on his tender leg.

"Yes." he says dryly.

"I have to lift your leg up, Hal. To bandage it. It's going to hurt." she says.

"Okay." he answers.

Maggie carefully lifts up his leg, with gently hands which shake ever so slightly. She wraps the garment around his wound, carefully but tightly to prevent it from bleeding further and to stop any infection for now. She then looks around her and finds no sticks, nothing to make a splint out of.

Maggie leaves Hal for a moment, promising that she'll return, and so she does return eventually. She returns with several large and thick sticks so she can make a splint, or a support structure, for his ankle.

She cuts the fabrics into individual sections with a knife and after doing this she tightens it around Hal's ankle. He stays quiet mostly, but she can hear his breathing deepening and the sudden and loud intakes of breath when she presses a little too hard against his tender leg.

Maggie begins to prepare the splint by snapping the larger branches, until they are of equal size, and places them in position around his leg and heel. She cuts and ties more fabric, until it is securely wrapped around his ankle and the sturdy branches are firmly in place. Then, she places a shred of fabric underneath his ankle and ties it around his foot several times to create more stability.

Once she's finished, and it's over, Maggie moves back to Hal's side. She searches through her bag and pulls out a flask which is full of water – she'd been saving the two other flasks of water for Hal when she came across him.

Then, Maggie lifts his head up gently with her left hand and beckons him to drink from the flask that she presses to his lips. He drinks from it eagerly, the water is cool and soothing as it runs down his lips and trickles down his throat. When he's finished she shoves the flask away in her bag, replaces her knife back into her boot, and then packs up all that needs to be put away.

She finds Hal's knife, tarnished with blood, and pauses before she shoves it into her backpack. Finally, she returns to his side and finds that he his eyes are still open.

He smiles weakly at her. "Thank you."

Maggie shakes her head. "It's okay."

_It's you_, she thinks silently, _I'd do anything for you._

Maggie bites down on her bottom lip before she glances up to the sky, which has begun to release heavier drops of water.

"We should get moving." Maggie says, despite that she's unsure of what moving him in this state will do to his body.

Hal agrees. "I know."

A moment of sad silence fills the air between them.

"Where to?" he asks.

"I don't know. We need to find you shelter, and there's none..For miles back. We'll keep moving forward for a little while..." she answers.

"Okay." he says quietly.

"And if we can't find anything, I'll set up a tent." she answers.

She doesn't know what exactly this tent will be constructed of,

Maggie pulls both of the back-packs over her body, and straps them on tightly, before she kneels in front of Hal.

"This is going to hurt." she says.

They both already know this, she just wishes she could avoid the pain that is going to hit him when she pulls his body upwards.

He smiles weakly and effortlessly and it is only a shadow of who he once was.

"It's okay," he says. "You're here."

And that's all he needs, that's all he needs to cling on to when the pain rises. Maggie has found him, she is here with him, and he knows that nothing else matters.

Hal believes he'll be okay as long as he has her.

She settles down beside Hal and slides one hand behind his back, placing the other on his stomach carefully. There is a moment of silent hesitation between them before Maggie moves.

The day is becoming colder and she knows that she has to get Hal somewhere warm, somewhere safe, so she can fix his wounds and so he can sleep without fear, so he can sleep long and peacefully like he deserves to, like he needs to.

"Quick and clean." she whispers quietly.

He shuts his eyes as his hands grip onto her.

She doesn't hesitate any longer; Maggie stands quickly, pulling Hal up steadily and carefully as she does.

A shrieking cry passes his lips but is soon overpowered by a sad, sobbing moan that echoes through the empty forest. His chest heaves heavily in and out as she sets his foot down upon the ground. He muffles a cry and tries to focus on anything but the overwhelming agony.

"You okay?" Maggie asks, breathing just as heavily as Hal.

He nods but says nothing.

"You're going to be okay, Hal." she promises, reassuring both Hal and herself. "I'm here."

He opens his eyes slowly and looks down at her, the tiniest smile forming on his face.

"You're here."

* * *

**A/N: Hi :) Here's the latest update. I wasn't really sure about the start, and I'm still not overly happy with it... but I wanted to head back to Pope and Joseph and show that they aren't having any luck tracking Maggie or Hal, and Pope's words will tie in with a future chapter. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my story, it means so much to me. Also a big thanks to all the reviews on chapter 74. :3 I hope you like this new chapter and where it's all heading from here (and what happens with the bug) will be interesting - I promise that much.**

**Also sorry for any spelling errors I missed! I wrote this one a little later at night (not an excuse) and I did check it over but I probably missed something.**

**Guest review:  
****victoria 7/2/13 . chapter 74: **Dear, victoria :) thank you for reading and reviewing my story. I'm really glad that you always enjoy reading my updates, and so I hope you enjoy this new update. Things are getting better with each chapter that passes, I assure you. :) I'm very happy also that I'm conveying how strong and close their bond is, and that you love it. Thanks for your feedback & your kind review. I hope you enjoy! :) x

**Enjoy. x**


End file.
